Security video shows four masked intruders breaking into a Rosedale home.Supplied
The squad of private security cars fans out after nightfall, their little rooftop lights flashing yellow against the historic homes and manicured hedges of Rosedale. Their drivers patrol the streets slowly, stopping to inspect parked cars and following any suspicious drivers.
Other unmarked security vehicles idle nearby, their drivers wearing bulletproof vests under their shirts, ready to respond to break-ins in six minutes or less.
Inside those graceful homes, residents have prepared crude fortifications: door braces, newly installed alarms, hammer-proof glass.
This is an average weekday night in one of Toronto’s most prestigious neighbourhoods since a series of sometimes violent break-ins spurred residents to invest in new layers of physical and virtual protection while calling on government for longer-term solutions.
Gary Mason: Break into my home at your own risk
“I think the crime trend has changed in the past few years, and it’s become more organized and it’s become more violent recently, and I think the criminals take advantage of the fact that the system is overwhelmed,” said Janice Lo, president of the South Rosedale Residents Association.
The situation in Rosedale and some other affluent neighbourhoods is bucking broader improvements in Toronto’s overall crime rate. Between 2015 and 2025, home invasions and break and enters fell by 27 per cent across the city, according to a Globe and Mail analysis of police data.
Over that same span, the two offences increased in Rosedale-Moore Park by 145 per cent. Rates in two other high-income neighbourhoods – defined as being in the top 25 per cent of household earnings – jumped by even more, climbing by 236 per cent in Yonge-St. Clair and 233 per cent in Mount Pleasant East.
And those numbers don’t necessarily capture the increasing severity of those crimes, residents say.
When a lone man slipped into Ms. Lo’s family home at night in 2016, he roamed the premises for 20 minutes before tripping an alarm on his way out, she said. Police immediately recognized the man on her camera footage as a long-time local drug user who had racked up 126 convictions over a 30-year period.
A judge gave him a 20-month sentence. Within 10 days of release, he broke into a neighbour’s home, Ms. Lo said.
“It’s horrible, but it motivated me to action,” said Ms. Lo, who has served on the association board since 2017. She started a digital neighbourhood watch to share safety information and meets quarterly with the local police division.
These days, the break-ins are far more sophisticated, she said. Groups of masked men show up at front entrances in the early morning, bodychecking doors until they give way or smashing windows to gain entry. Generally, they’re looking for jewellery and keys to luxury automobiles.
Police have informed some residents that thieves are mounting battery-powered trail cameras to monitor the comings and goings of homeowners. Last week, York Regional Police announced that they’d recovered two such cameras disguised by camouflage in Vaughan.
One terrifying home invasion proved to be something of a rallying point for some residents.
On Feb. 3, four masked men broke into the home of Deena Thakib and Walied Soliman. The couple was away on business, but seven children, aged 8 to 17, remained in the home with caregivers.
Woken by a disturbance in the early-morning hours, their 17-year-old daughter peered out her bedroom door to see two men with knives running toward her. She slammed the door and yelled at everyone else to hide in the washrooms. Caregivers ran up from the basement to lock themselves in washrooms with two of the youngest children.
“They just ran around the house scaring children, holding knives, threatening to hurt them if they didn’t co-operate,” said Ms. Thakib, who learned details of the home invasion by phone as she listened in on police interviewing the children.
Since then, there have been several attempted break-ins in the area, said Ms. Thakib, who’s seen camera footage posted on the neighbourhood group chat.
The family has hired a car and guard from Avante Security to stand watch outside the home at night and they have joined with other neighbours to pay for regular security patrols. But, like other residents who spoke with The Globe, they’d like to see more police patrols, faster response times and some federal action on bail reform to keep repeat offenders off the streets.
The Decibel: Is it legal to defend yourself if someone breaks into your home?
A Toronto Police spokeswoman acknowledged a rise in home invasions throughout the Greater Toronto Area linked to organized groups targeting vehicles, and said police services across the region have been working together to address the problem.
“Our Hold Up Squad, along with other specialized units, is actively working to address these crimes through targeted enforcement, ongoing investigations, and prevention-focused strategies in collaboration with the community,” Stephanie Sayer said in an e-mailed statement.
Security companies are now pitching what they’re calling a “virtual gated community” where a camera network would monitor key access points to capture vehicles and licence plates.
“Technology merged with manpower and people driving around would, I think, solve some of the issues occurring in Rosedale or any other neighbourhood,” said Avante Security chief executive Manny Mounouchos.
Avante pitched the neighbourhood on one version of the system involving five cars, cameras and artificial intelligence. The AI component would identify suspicious vehicles and track them through Rosedale. Some homeowners balked at the $1.8-million annual price tag, which would be shared among participating households.
Ms. Lo is leaning toward a different high-tech proposal, but declined to discuss specifics.
“March has been a little quieter because we have patrols implemented throughout Rosedale right now,” she said. “But the technology that is being implemented is really going to help.”