As its name suggests, the Casa Loma neighbourhood is located near Casa Loma in Toronto. The neighbourhood boundaries are St. Clair Avenue in the north, the CP railway tracks in the south, Spadina Road in the east and Bathurst Street in the west. The neighbourhood is a primarily residential one. The main non-residential aspect of the region is Casa Loma itself.
Casa Loma Crime Rates
The crime rate for the area is generally considered to be average. There is a low amount of crime against people. On average there are 5.93 crimes against people per 1000 living and working in the region. The rate of crime against property is average. There is an average of 29.23 crimes against people per 1000 living and working in the area.
Casa Loma Neighbourhood Crime
While the Casa Loma neighbourhood generally had a small amount of crime, there are obviously still crimes that take place in the region. It is also important to remember that criminals do not stop at arbitrary boundaries like neighbourhood dividing lines. Therefore understanding the crime rates of the surrounding regions is important. Nearby neighbourhoods include
Forest Hill and
the Annex.
As for crime in the area, Toronto police issued a warning in March 2011 after a potential sex offender was spotting trying to enter a number of area homes. From CBC News:
Police said the first incident took place at about 10:30 p.m. ET Saturday night when police responded to a call of a suspicious person in the area of Bathurst Street and Claxton Avenue. According to police, a man cut the window screen of a woman’s ground-floor apartment and tried to gain entry.
Less than 24 hours later, police responded to another call of a suspicious person in the area of Spadina Road and Delavan Avenue. In that incident, a man was found looking in the window of a woman’s home. Toronto Police Det. Sgt. Savas Kyriacou told CBC News that there have been a total of five such incidents in the same general area within a week.
There are a number of ways that you can protect yourself from situations like these. Bars and gates on windows and doors, home security systems, surveillance cameras and motion-activated lighting are all security tools that can keep homes safer.
Lighting is an incredibly important yet often overlooked security feature. Criminals often prefer to hide under the cover of darkness in order to commit crimes. By installing lighting in appropriate areas (such as above windows and doors, near driveways, walkways and garages and around the perimeter of your property) you can deter criminals from seeing your home as a target. Also, in the event that a criminal does decide to target your home, he or she will be spotted easier and/or captured on video surveillance more clearly. Motion-activated lighting is an excellent tool for this purpose as it only turns on when it senses nearby activity.
In June of 2010, a teenager was stabbed and killed in the Casa Loma neighbourhood area. From CBC News:
Police released the identity Monday of the teenage stabbing victim who died after an argument in the Bathurst Street and St. Clair Avenue area Saturday night. Justice Ferrigno, 16, was pronounced dead in hospital after he was found slumped on a lawn in the area.
Investigators said he became involved in some kind of argument with another teen. The dispute escalated between the pair and Ferrigno was stabbed several times, police said. Investigators were looking into whether the murder was connected to one of two parties going on in the area that night.
It is important to always be vigilant and aware of what is going on around you and to leave an area as soon as possible if things seem dangerous or if you start to feel uneasy.
