Expectations for the next director of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) are so high that Everest seems small in comparison.
Fady Dagher is preceded by a formidable reputation. It is associated with a more open police force, closer to the people. He reflects the image of an empathetic, sensitive man. His Lebanese origins bring him closer to cultural communities. The latter can now project themselves into this man who has already said that he himself has been the victim of racial profiling and who has climbed all the levels of an organization which is often criticized for its lack of diversity.
At the Longueuil police department, which he has led since 2017, he has completely transformed the culture. It has established solid ties with community organizations, brought its police officers closer to the population, and focused on prevention. A fine communicator, he opened his doors to journalists and let the cameras in. Today, Fady Dagher’s influence goes beyond police circles: he gives lectures on management and leadership. He inspires.
On paper, the man who crosses the Jacques-Cartier Bridge to come and direct his alma mater is therefore the ideal candidate. We understand Mayor Plante to be proud of her achievement.
Fady Dagher will not have it easy, however. Immense challenges await the new leader.
First, he will have to re-establish communication and trust with the people of Montreal. And we’re not talking about an image campaign or insipid talk. The relationship between the SPVM and Montrealers is seriously faltering. There are links to be rebuilt with neighborhoods, young people, cultural communities, community organizations, informants. In recent years, the SPVM has mainly communicated in times of crisis, almost always on the defensive. There is a real dialogue to be established and it will take time.
The new police chief will also have to reinforce the sense of security of Montrealers. Montreal may be one of the least violent cities in the country, but part of its population feels less safe there.
Gun proliferation will undoubtedly be high on the new leader’s agenda. Fady Dagher is not one of those who believe that recent court decisions concerning racial profiling prevent the police from doing their investigative work in the field. He will have to demonstrate it.
To get there, he will need resources. We are not talking about additional budgets to repaint patrol cars or buy new uniforms, but to hire police officers, replenish neighborhood stations, put more investigators in the field.
If Mr. Dagher has accepted Montreal’s offer, we can believe that he is sure to have the means to fulfill his ambitions.
But the biggest challenge for the new director of the SPVM, the one that risks preventing him from sleeping at night, will be to convince his police officers to adhere to his vision. It won’t be an easy task. The Brotherhood of Policemen and Policemen has a tendency to antagonize as soon as it hears the word “change”. Say the word “innovation” and the union brandishes its collective agreement like others brandish necklaces of garlic to ward off vampires.
The most conservative elements of the SPVM like to reduce the concept of community policing to a naive and good-natured vision of police work. Thursday morning, the refractories had already begun their undermining work by repeating in the media that “we do not stop criminals by doing prevention”.
As if the police weren’t capable of doing both, prevention AND repression. It is this reductive and reactionary perception that Fady Dagher will have to change.
He will never be able to implement his vision of a modern police force that is close to the people if his police officers do not believe in it.
This will be his first real test of leadership at the SPVM.