Over 700 robberies, 230 with guns in 2023 in Mississauga and Brampton

Published December 25, 2023 at 3:55 pm

Robberies are becoming an increasing concern in the Peel region, with Mississauga and Brampton experiencing an average of two or more incidents per day over the past 12 months.

From Jan. 1 to Dec. 25 (2023), Peel Regional Police data indicates that there were a combined 730 robberies reported across both cities — 334 in Mississauga and 396 in Brampton.

Here’s a month-to-month breakdown of the number of break-ins in these cities, based on police data:

Jan. 1 to Feb. 1: 75 —32 Brampton 43 Mississauga
Feb. 2 to March. 3: 71— 38 Brampton 33 Mississauga
March 4 to April 5: 63 — 34 Brampton 29 Mississauga
April 6 to May 7: 72 — 44 Brampton 28 Mississauga
May 8 to June 9: 74— 41 Brampton 33 Mississauga
June 10 to July 11: 69 — 41 Brampton 28 Mississauga
July 12 to August 13: 70 — 39 Brampton 31 Mississauga
August 14 to Sept 15: 54 — 28 Brampton 26 Mississauga
Sept 16 to Oct 17: 89 — 43 Brampton 46 Mississauga
Oct 18 to Nov. 19: 81 — 50 Brampton 31 Mississauga
Nov 20 to Dec. 25: 65 — 26 Brampton 39 Mississauga

It seems Brampton consistently reported higher numbers, ranging from 26 to 50 robberies, while Mississauga varied from 28 to 46.

The peak occurred from September to October, with a total of 89 cases—43 in Brampton and 46 in Mississauga.

Notably, Brampton experienced a 14.3% decline from October to November, whereas Mississauga witnessed a 32.6% increase during the same period.

Additionally, 230 of those robberies were carried out with guns, 243 with other weapons, six were violent purse snatches, and 251 were listed simply as “other” by police.

As of today (Dec. 25), 246 of these incidents are considered solved, while a whopping 392 are still being investigated, and 92 are deemed unsolved.

The data doesn’t indicate how many arrests were made or injuries reported in relation to these robberies.

The following map shows where the robberies took place:

According to Peel Regional Police data the top 20 common hotspots for this type of crime is:

Airport Road
Bovaird Drive
Bramalea Road
Burnhamthorpe Road
City Centre Drive
Dixie Road
Derry Road
Dundas Street
Erin Mills Parkway
Goreway Drive
Great Lakes Drive
Hurontario Street
Kennedy Road
Lakeshore Road
Main Street
Mavis Road
Peel Centre
Queen Street
Sandalwood Parkway
Steeles Ave

Comparing these incidents to the same time last year, (Jan. 1 – Dec. 25, 2022) there were only 2 cases reported for the year. One occurred on Balmoral Drive in Brampton—which has since been solved and the second happened near The Credit Woodlands in Mississauga where investigations are still ongoing— proving that there has been a drastic rise in robberies for 2023.

Here are some noteworthy robbery incidents from this year:

Police say, the crimes of most concern for businesses are break-ins, thefts, frauds and cyber frauds.

Businesses should follow these robbery prevention tips:

Ensure you have a properly working surveillance system.
Ensure you have proper lighting inside and outside your premise, and remember to maintain them.
Provide all staff with robbery prevention training.
Reduce the amount of cash on hand by making frequent cash drops.
Have low shelving to improve view of customers.
Place your shelves in a way that allows employees to see between the aisles from the sales counter.
Remove all excessive window signage or clutter from the sales area and other critical lines of sight.

If a robbery happens, victims are advised to contact police immediately.

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