Arson in Montreal | Slight decrease compared to last year

A vehicle burning in the middle of the night in a private entrance, a Molotov cocktail thrown into the window of a business, a fire lit at the back of a building: although the media report it every week, arson incidents are down slightly in Montreal since the start of the year, compared to the same date last year.

As of May 15, 205 files had been opened at the Arson Module of the City of Montreal Police Service (one per day and a half), compared to 220 in 2023. The SPVM warns, however, that these statistics may change during the investigation.

The different motives behind these fires are, in general, a debt, an extortion attempt, competition between businesses, revenge, a conflict, mental health and insurance fraud, the latter motive being uncommon unlike this than one might believe.

Just 15 of the 205 arsons recorded since the start of 2024 are linked to organized crime, compared to 38 last year.

Of these 15 files, 8 are linked to organized crime in the Near and Middle East (PMO), three to the mafia, three to street gangs and one to bikers.

Last year, 21 were linked to the PMO and 17 to the mafia.

“We are seeing a lull in conflicts within the mafia compared to last year,” says the commander of the Economic Crimes Section of the SPVM, Steve Belzil.

“As for the fires linked to the PMO, the targeted places have a link with the consumption of Hookah or catering. We are more in the extortion trend,” adds Detective Lieutenant David Joseph, of the Arson Unit.

Last year, a conflict raged between two mafia clans in the northeast of Montreal, but it has since calmed down.

The year 2023 was also marked by a wave of extortion through arson in licensed Arab establishments in Laval and the north of Montreal which continued in 2024, but the Laval Police Service (SPL) launched an offensive called Mèche, in collaboration with the SPVM and the Sûreté du Québec, and several arsonists were arrested.

“As soon as there is a file related to PMO organized crime in Laval, the SPL notifies us. And as soon as there is one in Montreal, we notify the SPL. There is a constant exchange of information every morning,” explains Mr. Joseph.

The mental disorders involved

Thirty-eight suspected arsonists have been arrested by the SPVM since the start of the year (as of May 15) compared to 34 for the same period in 2023.

“The people we arrest are often quite destitute. They don’t know whose house they are going to set on fire and why. The motive will be discovered during the investigation or by the complainants. The suspects are people who had contracts through different intermediaries,” says Commander Steve Belzil.

“Since last year, we have noticed a lot of mental health cases among our arsonists, this is approximately 11% of cases annually. What is particular is that they represent between 50 and 60% of our arrests,” he adds.

Two fires investigated by the SPVM Arson Section caused four deaths in 2024.

The section’s 11 investigators and analyst are very busy. They are still continuing their investigation into two high-profile cases, that of the arson which left seven dead in March 2023 in Old Montreal and the fire which caused damage worth tens of millions of dollars to the Olympic Stadium in March. last.

To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.