VIDEO: Street racing blitz nets over 350 charges and dozens of vehicles at Brampton mall

Police have laid hundreds of charges in a crackdown on street racing and loud car rallies at a Brampton mall and say those numbers will only go up as the enforcement blitz heads into the colder months.

“We’re pretty fed up with it too, you shouldn’t have to deal with it, and we’re doing our best to put it to an end,” said Peel Regional Police Const. Ty Bell-Morena of the ongoing complaints related to loud vehicles and dangerous driving around Trinity Common mall in Brampton.

In the summer police launched Project Burnout to step up effort to shut down “parking lot takeovers” at the mall – events where drivers will occupy a parking lot, often with loud vehicles, music, and in some cases even fireworks and gasoline to “excite and encourage unruly behaviour.”

As of Friday, police said the blitz has led to 332 provincial charges including Highway Traffic Act offences like speeding, unnecessary noise, stunt driving, liquor and licence offences, trespassing and others.

Another 28 criminal code charges were laid including dangerous operation, impaired operation, and fail to comply with a release order.

We’ve heard your concerns surrounding unlawful behaviour in and around the Trinity Common Mall area in #Brampton

Watch below as @Officer_Ty provides an update on some of our enforcement efforts to address your concerns. pic.twitter.com/QODpDtKBKz

— Peel Regional Police (@PeelPolice) October 25, 2024

Two dozen vehicles and even more driver’s licences were seized in the enforcement blitz and Bell-Morena said that overall incidents at the Trinity Common plaza “are on a steady decline.”

“That means, at least to us, that people are getting the message and our efforts are succeeding,” he said.

Police have been working to curb the number of car meet-ups at local malls and shopping plazas in both Mississauga and Brampton with an enforcement blitz in the summer leading to some 530 charges laid at Ridgeway Plaza in Mississauga.

Brampton is updating its bylaws to better deal with large car rallies and what it calls “nuisance gatherings.” The move came after seeing an increase in car rallies in the city following a crackdown in neighbouring Vaughan.

The public nuisance section carries fines of $800 for a first offence, climbing to $1,000 for a second offence and $1,500 for every following infraction. Rallying and damage additions would carry maximum fines of $2,000.

Bell-Morena said police will continue to put pressure on rallies and their attendees “so that you and your family can go there and enjoy the area without having to deal with all this nonsense.”

Anyone with information about these incidents can contact Peel Regional Police by calling 905-453-3311. Anonymous tips may also be submitted to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or by visiting www.peelcrimestoppers.ca.

When you contact Crime Stoppers you stay anonymous, never have to testify, and could receive a $2,000 reward.