This year's unsanctioned St. Patrick's Day event cost regional police $267K
The majority of the cost went toward overtime pay for officers
This year's unsanctioned St. Patrick's Day event cost regional police $267,000, with most of the money going toward overtime pay for officers.
Between 8:00 a.m. on March 17 and 3 a.m. on March 19, Waterloo Regional Police laid a total of 230 charges, received almost 500 calls and responded to 119 calls for service.
Sufficient resources were deployed over the two days to handle calls for service, manage crowds and conduct proactive enforcement.
Of the $267,000 cost:
- $181,000 went to overtime.
- $47,000 toward on-duty salaries.
- $26,000 on planning and analysis.
- And $13,000 on logistics.
"These costs are not specific to the unsanctioned street gathering," police said in a report going to Waterloo Regional police service's board Wednesday.
"They reflect costs associated with policing the entire major event perimeter within the university district."
Police said this year's gathering happened around Marshall and Regina streets and saw a peak number of approximately 8,000 people during the early afternoon hours on March 17.
The last significant St. Patrick's Day event took place in 2019, where peak attendance reached 33,000 people on Ezra Avenue.
Police said to prevent a repeat of 2019, the City of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University installed fencing throughout the Ezra Avenue to prevent large crowds.
That approach proved effective in preventing any crowds from attending the area, police said. The City of Waterloo and Laurier absorbed the costs for the fence.
Unsanctioned street parties did not happen during 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, but saw a return in 2022 where an unsanctioned gathering occurred on Marshall Street with a peak crowd size of 4,000 people.