A new police squad was created to fight more adequately against violence with firearms, to devote itself specifically to criminal intelligence.
The Minister of Public Security of Quebec, François Bonnardel, made the announcement Tuesday in Montreal, during the opening of the first seminar of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) on the phenomenon of armed violence.
Quebec grants a budget of $7.5 million for the operation of this integrated squad, which will draw its forces and its appointed agents from the following police forces: the SQ and the police services of Laval, Montreal and Longueuil.
The squad will also have the mandate to infiltrate social networks, said Minister Bonnardel.
Its usefulness stems from the fact that criminal intelligence was the only area for which there were not yet integrated services, that is to say which combined different police forces, explained Chief Inspector Benoit Dubé, Director criminal investigations at the SQ.
The other reason is the development of technology and social networks.
“We must maximize the monitoring of social networks, where criminals appear and demonstrate force with weapons. Individuals are then monitored and a file can be compiled.
All the information collected will be “pre-chewed”, says Inspector Dubé, and then be returned to the investigative divisions of the police forces concerned.
The SQ assumes the leadership of the squad because social networks have no geographical territory. The offender who sells a submachine gun there can be physically in any municipality.
The seminar on the phenomenon of armed violence lasts two days. It aims to dissect the phenomenon and find possible solutions. Dozens of police chiefs and officials of various strategies, including those of prevention, attended.