(Montreal) New measures to combat gun violence in Montreal seem to be bearing fruit. According to the most recent figures released Thursday by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), firearm discharges, attempted murders and homicides involving firearms are down 30% compared to the first half of 2022.
Between 1er January and May 31, the SPVM counted 40 events where at least one shot was fired, compared to 58 during the same period last year.
During the first five months of 2023, three murders and 16 attempted murders with a firearm were recorded in the metropolis; in 2022 on the same date, 20 attempted murders and six homicides had taken place, indicated the director of the SPVM, Fady Dagher.
Seizures of firearms have increased; since the beginning of the year, 367 firearms have been seized by Montreal law enforcement, 107 more than on the same date in 2022. These are mainly handguns and semi-automatic weapons,” Dagher said.
Arrests are down slightly, however, from 131 in the first months of 2022 to 120 this year.
These advances are largely attributable to the SPVM’s new strategy to combat armed violence, which relies, among other things, on multidisciplinary teams and on prevention called “collectives”, said Mr. Dagher during a press briefing. held at police headquarters.
“These groups are made up of police and civilian experts, patrol officers, intelligence people and others involved in prevention,” explained Inspector David Shane, communications manager at the SPVM. Our mission is to prevent shots being fired and to get young people out of the midst of violence. »
Several actions are implemented in the streets of Montreal, but we note that the police force chooses to intervene with criminals who arm themselves in parallel with other illicit activities.
“For example, if a criminal commits fraud and he arms himself to protect himself, we will focus on him and intervene on the part of the fraud”, illustrated Mr. Dagher.
“The targeting of certain individuals, their arrest and their incarceration are the keys to reducing gun violence,” he added.
This targeting and awareness work, which is sometimes accompanied by referrals to community organizations, is also based on the good relations that the police force maintains with its partners.
“The police cannot and will not solve the problem of armed violence on their own, warned Mr. Dagher. Combating the culture of normalization of violence and guns must be a shared responsibility. »
Caution remains in order
However, Chef Dagher does not claim victory and prefers to remain cautious before qualifying this new approach as a success.
“The collectives were put into action from April, and the strikes of April 5 and 26 set the tone for the summer to come. These are positive results, but let’s wait to see in a few months if it continues in this vein, ”he said.
“You can have surprises during the summer; it is not excluded that revenge is being prepared at the level of organized crime,” he then specified, adding that Montreal still remained safe for citizens.
“We will continue our targeting, we will be visible and we will work on prevention. »
young offenders
The young age of the armed individuals apprehended by the SPVM in recent months is of particular concern to Mr. Dagher.
“Some of the offenders we have arrested are juvenile (delinquents), he testified. We are talking between 16 and 30 years old. »
The possession and use of firearms are trivialized among some teenagers, lamented the experienced police officer, which requires additional efforts in prevention.
“We can work in the short term by arresting young people who are armed, but the SPVM must think in the long term, that we prepare the next generation so that it does not fall into violence,” he said.
In this sense, last December the service set up an awareness program in the form of multidisciplinary intervention teams in schools (EMIE), which have since carried out more than 210 interventions, in particular by traveling at least 175 times to schools in the metropolis, said Inspector David Shane.
“We have also developed the Unity without violence Speak up with young people from 5e and 6e year, where they are invited to adopt non-violent behavior and to denounce when they are witnesses or victims of violence”, adds the person in charge of communications.