The Toronto Entertainment District is a downtown Toronto neighbourhood. It is concentrated around King Street West, primarily between University Avenue and Spadina Avenue. The northern boundary is generally considered to be Queen Street West and the southern boundary is the Gardiner Expressway. The Toronto Entertainment District is primarily known for its restaurants, bars, clubs and theatres, but recently many large condominiums have been built in the neighbourhood. This has brought many new residents into the area. The number of clubs have generally decreased in recent years as the neighbourhood has become more mixed. In the area between Simcoe Street and Bathurst Street and between Queen Street and Front Street, there is an average of 9.45 crimes against people per 1000 living and working in the area. There is an average of 24.92 crimes against property per 1000. South of Front Street between York Street and Bathurst Street, stretching south to Lake Ontario, there is an average of 3.7 crimes against people per 1000 and 17.44 crimes against property. While this area stretches further west than the Entertainment District, it is a good indicator for crime in the area. Remember, criminals do not stop at certain streets. Crime does not stop because it enters a new neighbourhood. In October 2007, an innocent bystander was injured when he was struck by a stray bullet in the Entertainment District. From Canoe.ca:
Toronto Police were initially called to the Richmond-Peter Sts. area around 3 a.m. for the report of gunshots. They arrived to find one man wounded on the street and hundreds of people running for cover. Karpow said numerous vehicles and businesses, plus one residence, were hit by bullets. A silver car on Adelaide St. was found with a bullet hole in the roof and its back window shot out.
In October 2010 a woman was sexually assaulted in the Entertainment District. According to a Toronto Star report, a 20-year-old woman was “dragged into a laneway around 3 a.m. near Adelaide St. W. and Spadina Ave., assaulted and robbed.” In March of 2010, two men were hospitalized after being stabbed during a fight in the Entertainment District. From CityTV Toronto:
A fight in the city’s entertainment district sent two people to hospital with stab wounds early Saturday morning. The scuffle between two groups broke out at John and Mercer Streets outside the Rockwood Nightclub. Two men were stabbed; one suffered two stab wounds to the chest. The experienced other minor wounds to his arms. Both were taken to local hospitals and are in stable condition.
More recently, in October 2011, three people were stabbed in the Entertainment District around 3am. They were outside of a nightclub at Richmond Street near John Street. A study conducted by the University of Toronto, St. Michael’s Hospital and Ryerson University in 2010 found that “most assault-related calls for ambulances between midnight and 4 a.m. came from the Entertainment District, an area that has had problems with shootings, assaults and drugs,” according to the Toronto Star. Toronto Police have attempted to deter crime in the area by installing security cameras. A statement on the Toronto Police Service website said that “cameras are used strategically to disrupt dangerous and disorderly behaviour.” Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair stated that “we’ve seen a real change in behaviour in the Entertainment District, not just because of cameras… but cameras are one of the tools.” Security cameras are certainly an excellent tool for preventing and deterring crime as well as for catching criminals in the act. For more information on security cameras, visit SafeTech Alarms Security Camera Information Page or contact one of our loss prevent experts today. We can help you strategically place security cameras in order to help you protect your property.