The number of violent events involving firearms in the metropolis has decreased by 30% since the beginning of the year, but it is too early to declare victory, warns the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) . The latter is also concerned to note that adolescents are responsible for some of these crimes, the number of which could start to rise again with the arrival of the summer season.
Between 1er January and May 31 of the current year, three murders were committed with the help of a firearm in the metropolis, twice as many as during the same period last year. The number of discharges by firearms fell from 58 to 40 during the given period, while 16 attempted murders involving this type of weapon took place during the first five months of the current year, against 20 on the same date, in 2022. The director of the SPVM, Fady Dagher, thus reported Thursday, at a press conference, an overall drop in firearm events of 30% in the metropolis, compared to the same period last year.
This decrease, the director of the SPVM attributes it in part to the 120 arrests of criminals involved in firearm violence carried out by the police force since the beginning of the year. “The fact that they are incarcerated means that there is a drop in the level of shootings,” he noted, recalling in particular the major police strikes carried out on April 5 and 26 by the SPVM.
The Montreal police have also made arrests in the space of 10 days related to investigations into five homicides, three of which were committed with a firearm, boasted the director of the SPVM. “It’s a colossal job,” noted Mr. Dagher. On the other hand, 367 weapons were seized in five months in Montreal, compared to 260 during the same period last year. “These are firearms that we managed to remove from circulation and that could otherwise have been used to commit violent crimes,” said the police chief.
Caution is advised
However, it is too early to speak of a “success” of the Montreal police in their fight against gun violence, which has grown in recent years, warned Fady Dagher. “I want to be extremely careful. 30 % [comme baisse de la violence par armes à feu], it is truly remarkable, but there is nothing guaranteed for the summer. I prefer to be very careful on this. You can have huge surprises during the summer. »
The data from the SPVM’s latest annual report, released last week, showed a 29.4% increase in the number of crimes against persons involving firearms in 2022, compared to the average for last five years. The number of homicides increased by 10.8% in 2022, compared to the previous year, for a total of 41 murders.
“We do not know what will happen in the coming days, in the coming weeks,” insisted Fady Dagher Thursday, while assuring the population that Montreal remains “a safe city”.
Focus on prevention
In order to increase its crime prevention efforts, the SPVM has decided to bring together police officers from various specialized teams and civilian personnel – such as community officers – within new intervention groups called “collectives”. The role of these teams is to intervene with people considered to be at high risk of committing violent crimes in order to dissuade them from taking action.
These teams include patrol officers, as well as experts in investigation, intelligence and crime prevention to track criminals and meet their “recent victims” in order to prevent them from carrying out “acts of revenge “, explained Thursday the inspector David Shane, responsible for communications at the SPVM.
“Their role is to target and exert constant pressure on individuals who are at high risk of committing criminal offenses or being victimized in connection with armed violence”, all in order to prevent ” that shots are fired in our streets in Montreal and to try to get some young people out of the midst of violence,” summarized Mr. Shane.
Younger criminals
The SPVM also intends to continue its “targeting” efforts this summer, which target “certain individuals” whom the police force suspects of being at risk of committing violent crimes. Other arrests in the middle of organized crime are thus to be expected in the coming months, mentioned Fady Dagher.
Among the criminals who are still on the run are a number of minors, a situation that worries Fady Dagher, who revealed on Thursday that the average age of the criminals behind gun crimes in the metropolis currently revolves around 16 to 30 years old. Teenagers thus find themselves among the criminals with whom the police must intervene. “That’s why the police have to think in the medium and long term” when acting in the area of crime prevention among young people, argued Mr. Dagher.
In this sense, the SPVM has multiplied its prevention interventions in primary and secondary schools since the beginning of the year, in order to encourage children “to adopt non-violent behavior”, mentioned David Shane.