Following the large unsanctioned Homecoming gatherings, administrative leaders from the University of Guelph, Guelph Police Service, City of Guelph and Guelph General Hospital met Tuesday to review community impacts and discuss how their collective approach must evolve. As an outcome of this meeting, we will jointly establish a Homecoming working group dedicated to mitigating risks and reducing the impacts associated with large unsanctioned gatherings.
Recognizing the impact to the community and the additional demands on police, hospital and municipal services like by-law, fire and paramedics, the organizations undertake extensive annual planning for a safe Homecoming, including prevention, education, operations, coordinated communications and frontline resources.
This year demonstrated that the environment surrounding unsanctioned gatherings has changed. Social media’s speed and reach, along with individuals who encourage disorder or cause damage, can quickly increase an event’s scale, complexity and risk; disrupt nearby residents and businesses; and create safety concerns for participants, the community and first responders.
As these gatherings continue to evolve in size and complexity, we will build on our existing Homecoming planning and bring together appropriate expertise from each organization to examine ways to further strengthen prevention, operations, communications, and response strategies; explore additional tools, authorities and resources to support community safety, as well as identify opportunities to hold offenders accountable.
Specific measures will follow further analysis. We will continue to meet regularly to oversee this work, consider recommendations and monitor progress.
Unsanctioned gatherings are complex and cannot be addressed by one organization or measure alone. We are, therefore, collectively resolved to ensure that future homecomings remain safe for our students, staff, including first responders, and our City.
Media Contacts:
University of Guelph
media@uoguelph.ca
City of Guelph
communications@guelph.ca
Guelph Police Service
media@guelphpolice.ca
Guelph General Hospital
ckostiak@gghorg.ca
