Kingston Warnings and Dangers

While Kingston is as safe a city as you will find anywhere it is worth remembering that Kingston area is home to numerous penitentiaries including: Kingston Pen, Collins Bay, Joyceville Pen, Millhaven, Bath Inst., Frontenac Inst., Pittsburgh Inst and for many years was home to the Famous Prison for Women. We have had the dubous "honour" of playing host to some of Canada's most notorious criminals, who thanks to the quality of the construction remain inside the walls.

I lived in Kingston for 23 years, and saw much of the seedier underside of the city. But this town is really quite safe for those who stay out of the drug scene. Stay on the straight and narrow, and you're fine - I can't even count the number of times I walked home alone at 3 or 4 in the morning (from the age of 16 onwards), and I can't think of a single time that I felt really threatened. But to feel safer, if you're a woman just don't walk out alone in the side streets and alleys alone after 11 pm. Obviously, common sense rules the day: as long as you are alert, aware of your surroundings and don't get all-out sloshed to the point of incoherancy, you'll be fine.

Pickpocketing is pretty much non-existant, although there have been a few cases of muggings, but they're rarely violent. When someone is murdered it is the news of the year, as it's not a common occurance. The most common crimes are break and entry to unoccupied homes and drug trafficking. Overall, for a prison town, it's almost abnormally safe in Kingston for the average joe.

Heavy stuff. In and around the museum, there are many ship related items displayed in the open. Some of them are made of metal, iron and wood. You have to be careful not to let the kids climb on them. Some of these are not very stable and can fall or crash someone. My son lifted up one side of a huge Anchor when I wasn't looking.

You also have to watch out for the deep water besides the docks, where the ships used to park. There is no fence or anything. The water is very deep there. It is designed that way so the heavy ships could come in.

Well, it's a university town, so watch out for the students who tend to go a little crazy. A lot of my high school friends went to Queen's University, so I know first hand what they can get up to, lol!