Break and Enter – House
The City of Toronto has experienced a 58% increase in house break and enters in January and February versus same period 2023. Although SAHRA’s area has had 2 incidents, the west side of Avenue Road (UACA’s area) experienced 9. We will continue to monitor this activity as we progress through 2024. Several affluent areas of the City are being hit hard: Bridlepath, Edenbridge-Humber Valley, St. Andrews-Windfield, Bedford Park Nortown (our official neighbourhood) and Banbury-Don Mills to name a few. We have reached out to 32 Division to obtain further information on what is driving the increase and actions they are taking to bring it under control.
The chart below illustrates our B&E house history 2019 to 2024.
Break and Enter – Commercial
Commercial retailers on Avenue Road continue to experience a high rate of break and enters. In January and February, there have been 9 incidents versus 2 in the same period 2023. Many areas across the City are experiencing a similar pattern. Commercial break and enter in Toronto is up 44% in 2024.
Councillor Colle held a Summit on “Stopping Small Business Break-Ins on March 1st”. CBC provided an article on the Summit.
The chart below illustrates our Commercial B&E history on the Upper Avenue from 2019 to 2024.
Auto Theft
The City of Toronto experienced a 4.5% decline in auto thefts January and February 2024 over 2023. In the same period, SAHRA experienced 4 auto thefts which is flat over same period 2023. We would hope to see a decline in incidents as we move through 2024.
On February 20th, UACA and SAHRA had a debrief call with a Board member of the Lawrence Park Residents Association (LPRA) who attended the National Summit on Combatting Auto Theft in Ottawa on February 8th. As a participant who experiences the auto thefts at the ground level, the LPRA Board member was somewhat disappointed with the outcome. The Summit was very political in nature with lots of grandstanding. Our brief notes from our discussion are available for those interested.
Related news article from the CBC
Although it is difficult not to be cynical given the amount of time auto thefts have been escalating, we are pleased that the issue is now front and centre. On March 20th, there will be a Summit held in Peel Region which will be more hands on and action oriented. We will report back on this meeting later in March.
The chart below illustrates auto theft incidents for the period 2019 to 2024.
