More Torontonians are resorting to window film to protect against home invasions
Home invasion incidents in Toronto have increased compared to last year’s statistics
A new CBC report about home invasions has revealed that more Torontonians are purchasing window film as a desperate measure to protect against burglary. The film makes it harder to break through glass.
“It absolutely is what stopped them, slowed them down, created an injury and stopped them from getting into my home,” Rosedale resident Riley Mulvihill told the outlet, about an attempted home invasion last February.
“Even though they were successful at breaking the glass, the film slowed them down. Not long enough for the police to come, but long enough for them to make a decision for themselves on the risk-reward,” she said.
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In 2024, there were 149 home invasions in Toronto, affecting 231 victims. This figure dropped in 2025, to 93 incidents affecting 183 victims, but so far in 2026, the numbers have risen again in comparison to the same time last year, according to Toronto police data reviewed by CBC.
Julian Herzberg, the owner of Home Security Consultants, said demand for window film application has increased by 70 per cent over the last two years. “The majority of people will always say, ‘my neighbour just got broken into,’” he said.
Last month, Toronto city councillors Dianne Saxe and Rachel Chernos Lin proposed and passed a motion asking police to compile a report on measures being taken to address the home invasion problem.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
