Police to patrol McMaster area this weekend, 2nd time city will enforce nuisance party bylaw

The City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Police Service are beefing up police presence around McMaster University this weekend in the hopes of preventing St. Patrick's Day parties from getting out of control.

From Friday night until Sunday, there will be an increased number of officers in the neighbourhoods south and east of the campus, enforcing a nuisance party bylaw that was introduced in 2022.

An individual charged under the bylaw may face fines from $300 to $500 for each offence and up to $10,000 for hosting a party that gets disruptive.

Some students and residents in the neighbourhoods around McMaster told CBC Hamilton this week the increased police presence has been helpful in the past — during homecoming in October 2022 for example — but may not be necessary for this weekend.

"I know stuff has happened in the past on the street, but it's the middle of winter," said Isaac Gautreau, who lives on Dalewood Avenue, one of the streets with the biggest crowds in the past. 

"I don't expect there will be anything and I don't think [the initiative] will be necessary for this weekend."

This is the city's second time they've enacted the initiative. It comes after 2021 homecoming street parties that resulted in a woman's car being smashed, flipped over and destroyed by a horde of people.

The city then introduced the bylaw ahead of homecoming celebrations in October 2022. It defines a nuisance party as a gathering where one of numerous activities including public intoxication, damage to property and excessive noise occurs. 

"We want to remind those participating in St. Patrick's Day celebrations to stay safe and celebrate responsibly. We want to make sure this is a positive experience for everyone," Const. Indy Bharaj, a Hamilton police public information officer, told CBC Hamilton.

"While socializing with friends, avoid the extremely high risks associated with large or disruptive gatherings — whether in Hamilton or in any community across Ontario," Sean Van Koughnett, associate vice-president and dean of students at McMaster University, said in a statement earlier this week. 

Donna Lapierre, who has lived in the area of Haddon Avenue South and Dalewood Avenue for 44 years, has seen the parties that have popped up since she moved there.

She said she feels the parties have become calmer in the last few years and doubts any big parties will appear in the streets this weekend due to rain and snow.

She applauded the police presence last year in the area. 

"The way they handled it last September, they handled it really well. They blocked off everything here and nobody was allowed to enter or leave."

On Dalewood Avenue, residents Khyla Whiltshire Mateer and Catherine Zhang told CBC Hamilton they weren't planning to party this weekend because of cold weather and to prepare for tests coming up next week.

"Obviously disruptive parties are an issue, but $10,000 is a little much," said Mateer. She said while destruction of property shouldn't happen, there are some expectations of living near the university during these events. 

"I think a lot of students realized that homecoming was overkill," Zhang said. "When people saw the cops, they kind of freaked out."

Surina Patel lives in the neighbourhood north of campus, near Sterling Street and Forsyth Street North. Patel said students who really want to party will find a way even with an increased police presence. 

"It kind of encourages students to sneak around authority. If you know St. Patrick's Day is a weekend where university kids are going to party, you might as well try to make it safer for them and not try to enforce zero partying."

She also worried the increased police presence may stress out students more than encourage safer partying.

"There are a lot of students especially a lot of LGBTQ people who don't have the best relationship with cops," she said.

"There's so many people here that to have cops around during St. Patrick's Day I think isn't as helpful as they think it [will be]."

The initiative runs from midnight Friday to Sunday at 11:59 p.m.