Hundreds of charges laid during St. Patrick’s Day street party celebrations

CTV’s Krista Simpson breaks down the numbers after hundreds of charges were laid during a St. Patrick’s Day party.

Hundreds of people are facing charges after Waterloo’s St. Patrick’s Day street party.

A total of 218 charges were laid by police between March 13 and 18, including six criminal offences. Police said 128 charges under the Highway Traffic Act, 58 Liquor Licence and Control Act charges and three Trespass to Property Act charges were also issued.

One person was charged under the Cannabis Control Act.

Amid the charges, the Waterloo Regional Police Service said 13 arrests were made.

Meanwhile, City of Waterloo by-law officers were also kept busy Saturday, as thousands of people flooded the streets for unsanctioned parties. Officers responded to 72 calls for noise and nuisance, a 44 per cent drop from 128 calls in 2025.

On March 14, bylaw officers issued seven tickets for nuisance parties and laid six charges for blocking or interfering with pedestrian or vehicle traffic. The offences come with $800 fines.

Officers also handed out 21 tickets for noise and three tickets for public urination, both of which come with costly consequences of $400 each.

There were also 49 clean-up orders issued for properties in the area.

“We are disappointed that students and others continued to gather on our streets, creating a nuisance and a community safety concern,” Grant Curlew, the City of Waterloo’s acting director of municipal enforcement services said in a news release.

“We are thankful there were no significant injuries, and that crowds were smaller, more contained, and dispersed more quickly than in previous years. Thank you to Waterloo Regional Police Service, our city enforcement staff and all our community partners for their efforts this weekend. We will continue to work with our partners on strategies to address large, unsanctioned gatherings.”

Police estimated the crowd size was around 7,500 people at its peak during Saturday’s celebrations.