Ontario police lay hundreds of charges in crackdown at ‘lawless’ mall parking lot

Police have laid hundreds of charges in an ongoing crackdown targeting community reports of “lawlessness” at a Brampton mall parking lot.

Peel Regional Police shared an update on its ongoing enforcement operation in the parking lot and area surrounding Trinity Common Mall, a large shopping centre at Highway 410 and Bovaird Drive in Brampton.

Constable Tyler Bell-Morena explained in a video shared to X that the ongoing operation has already had a noticeable impact, with over 300 charges laid and two dozen vehicles impounded.

“I just wanted to take a moment to discuss some of your ongoing concerns surrounding the Trinity Common Mall area up in Brampton, and to keep you in the loop about what we’ve been doing about it,” said Bell-Morena.

“We’ve heard you loud and clear. You’re fed up with the lawlessness that’s going on there. The dangerous driving, the large nuisance gatherings, the loud exhausts, and, of course, all the inherent safety concerns that come with all of that.”

Bell-Morena stated that police are “pretty fed up with it too,” and pledged to locals that “you shouldn’t have to deal with that, and we’re doing our best to put it to an end.”

That push to cut down on alleged illegal activities in the mall parking lot has entailed what Bell-Morena described as “an increased police presence at Trinity Common” since the summer months.

“Our officers from 21 Division and Road Safety Services have been very busy trying to address these concerns. They’ve been conducting Strategic Enforcement blitzes, particularly on the weekends[…]and they’re even working on ongoing projects like Project Burnout which is specifically dedicated to target the Trinity Common Mall and surrounding areas.”

Police have reportedly laid a staggering 322 Provincial charges under the Highway Traffic Act, Liquor Licence Act, and Trespass to Property Act, as well as 28 Criminal Code charges. In addition to all of these charges, police also say they’ve impounded 24 cars and suspended over two dozen licences.

The crackdown is similar to another Peel police operation to quell disturbances that resulted in dozens of charges being laid on people attending the similarly problematic Ridgeway Plaza parking lot in Mississauga, a spot where locals had raised identical concerns about dangerous incidents in the area surrounding the property.