Amar Pathak thought it was her daughter coming home late.

But in fact, the sound of the garage door cracking open around 3 a.m. a few years ago wasn’t her child — it was a stranger searching for valuables with a flashlight.

“I was so scared just thinking about what if that guy had come into the house? What if the door had been unlocked?” Pathak, an Oakville, Ont., resident, told Global News.

“Now I hear every day someone’s home is broken into and gets hurt.”

While overall robberies in Ontario are finally on a slight downward trend for the first time in years, violent break-ins and home invasions with weapons are rising — and with them, the call for more security is too.

Police forces across Toronto, Peel, Durham and Halton are reporting a spike in residential break-ins involving weapons, often carried out by young offenders.

Police officials, security experts, and residents say the increased availability of illegal firearms, a lack of deterrence in the justice system and highly organized criminal groups are all fueling the crisis.

According to Toronto police data, the number of residential robberies was up 49.7 per cent in 2024 when compared with the year prior — the highest jump in recent years. When combined, there were more than 900 armed robberies in both years — almost double the numbers seen in 2022 and prior.

Ron Chhinzer, a former Halton police officer and expert in public safety, told Global News violent break-ins, often armed and increasingly organized, are becoming more common.

“There’s really no consequence to a lot of these criminals,” Chhinzer said. “They can break into a home one day, be out on bail, and then be doing the exact same crime that night.”

He said the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many of the root causes.

Lockdowns, economic stress, and mental health and addiction crises led to a sharp rise in drug demand, which was met by street gangs, many tied to organized crime.

During his time as an officer, he noticed how violent organized crime networks started to shift from auto theft to home invasions.

“The hardened guys who used to deal drugs started seeing their buddies stealing cars and making big money,” Chhinzer said. “And they said, ‘Forget this, I’ll do what you do. I’ve already got a gun.’”

“But instead of learning the tech to steal cars, they just said, ‘Why bother? I’ll kick in a front door, hold everyone at gunpoint, steal the watches, the cash, and the keys.’”

In Halton, break and enters rose to 1,061 in 2024 from 655 in 2020.

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A spokesperson from the Toronto police hold-up squad, a team recently made to deal with armed robberies, confirmed that while car theft-linked invasions have declined slightly this year, total home invasions are up 105 per cent year-to-date.

“We’ve seen these kinds of cycles before, from a rise in bank robberies to spikes in carjackings and home invasions,” they said. “Offenders often shift focus to what they see as an easier target.”

Mario Zelaya, the founder of Dura Film, a growing home fortification company, says the demand for protective window film is being driven by fear and real violence.

Zelaya said he launched the business eight months ago after noticing just how many people were being harmed in their own homes.

“This business shouldn’t even exist, but here we are. I’ve installed film for people who have been hurt and have had to go to the hospital,” he said.

“I’ve heard of 65- to 70-year-olds being woken up from their sleep and pistol-whipped, demanded to give their valuables over. They sometimes have to get stitches or have a fractured orbital bone. I can’t even imagine how brutal of an awakening that would be.”

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Video shows moment Ontario homeowner scared off four armed home invaders

Dura Film applies a thick, laminated film on the inside of windows, designed to keep them intact even after blunt force.

The goal isn’t to prevent break-ins entirely, but to slow them down long enough for help to arrive.

“Police officers have literally said to just buy them four minutes,” Zelaya said. “If we can delay robbers, that might save a life.”

Police in Halton recently released a stat showing 48 per cent of break-ins occur through back patio doors, typically large glass panels that are easy to shatter.

The surge in violent crimes has also been reflected in security patrols in many neighbourhoods.

“Oakville, Etobicoke, York Region … there is private security everywhere now,” Chhinzer said.

“This is where we’re headed. People hiring private patrols. Gated communities. Reinforced doors. Middle-class safety is being eroded.”

A major driver in the surge is how organized criminal groups are intentionally recruiting younger offenders, according to Chhinzer.

“Organized crime networks want 18 and under,” he said. “If you look at some of the data, a lot of these offenders are 15 to 16 years old because they sit under the Youth Criminal Justice Act … minimal repercussions.”

The former officer also linked the issue to high youth unemployment and a shrinking legal job market.

“Why work a minimum wage job if someone can make $50,000 in one night?” he said.

“The economic opportunity on the black market is massive and there’s no real cost to getting caught.”

2:12
Project Ghost: Nearly 200 charges laid, and 13 members of ‘violent criminal network’ arrested

Peel police announced Tuesday morning that they had completed a recent takedown of a large criminal network that was exploiting youth and targeting residents.

Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said the targeting of youth into gangs has played a big role in the violent crime uptick across the region.

“These networks prey on at-risk youth, pulling them into violent criminal activity,” he said.

Mississauga Coun. Alvin Tedjo added that “this was an unusually violent, organized criminal network that terrorized families and drafted vulnerable youth into its activities.”

Pathak still thinks about what could’ve happened the night her home was broken into.

Looking out the front window, she saw their garage wide open, and a young man inside, using the flashlight from his phone to search for valuables. When she tapped on the glass, the man startled and fled with two other men.

“We didn’t realize there is another car and two people inside the car, and they were holding up an object that looked like a weapon,” she said.

“I can only imagine if they got in.”

Pathak later discovered the man had accessed the garage using a remote he found inside her vehicle. She called 911 immediately but no arrests were made.

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Ontario couple terrified after violent break- in at their home

As home invasions spike, Zelaya warns that the violence is leaving behind long-term consequences for residents.

“Some of these people are permanently traumatized,” he said. “They don’t feel safe in their own home.”