Police lay 208 charges during St. Patrick's Day parties in Waterloo

Police wrote 197 tickets and arrested four people as a result of St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Waterloo this year.

The 197 tickets were for provincial offences, such as for having open liquor, being intoxicated in public and urinating in public.

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The number of tickets is down from 2016, when 256 tickets were issued. In 2015, there were 269 tickets handed out. This is despite the fact that last year, police estimated there were about 5,000 students present and this year, officers at the scene said there were likely about 10,000 students on the street in the early afternoon.

In total, there were 11 criminal code charges on Friday including assault, offensive weapon, drug possession, impaired driving, breach of probation and theft and possession of stolen property.

The four arrests related to Project Respect – the name given to a partnership between emergency services, the universities and the City of Waterloo surrounding the St. Patrick's Day celebrations near the universities in Waterloo, particularly on Ezra Street – included two for causing a disturbance, one for domestic violence and one for failure to identify.

Chief Bryan Larkin said in a statement St. Patrick's Day is one of the force's largest operational deployments of the year, which requires "significant planning and a collective approach to ensure public safety."

Here is a list of some of the 208 charges:

• Having open liquor in a container: 118 charges under the Liquor Licence Act.
• Bodily emission in public place: 14 charges under Waterloo bylaw.
• Consume liquor other than in licensed premise: 13 charges under the Liquor Licence Act.
• Being intoxicated in a public place: 11 charges under the Liquor Licence Act.
• Person under 19 consuming liquor: Nine charges under the Liquor Licence Act.
• Fail to wear seatbelt: Eight charges under the Highway Traffic Act.
• Assault: Three charges under the Criminal Code.
• Offensive weapon: Two charges under the Criminal Code.
• Drug possession: Two charges under the Criminal Code.
• Impaired driving: One charge under the Criminal Code.
• Noise complaint: One charge under Waterloo bylaw.