Quebec will strengthen security in courthouses, where a court interpreter was stabbed last January. In total, $31 million will be invested in adding metal detectors and hiring new special constables.
This was announced by the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, and the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, during a press briefing on Monday.
The plan was presented at the Longueuil courthouse, where a court interpreter was stabbed more than twenty times almost six months ago.
“We all agree that we must act to strengthen the feeling of security of the population and partners in the justice system,” recognized Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
In this sense, the government will invest more than $7.5 million in adding and modernizing security equipment, including the famous security arches.
Ultimately, nine establishments will be equipped with these devices allowing metal detection, as is the case at the Montreal courthouse.
These are the palaces of Longueuil, Laval, Joliette, Quebec, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Saint-Jérôme, Gatineau, Chicoutimi and Sherbrooke.
“Several criteria were evaluated to select these palaces, including the number of incidents that occurred and their nature, the traffic, the nature of the judicial activities held there and the security measures already in place,” he said. He specifies.
The installation of security arches will begin at the Longueuil courthouse. By the end of the month, all citizens will have to pass through a checkpoint before accessing the building.
Recent attacks
Recent incidents have rekindled the question of security in the palaces where many criminals pass through.
In May, a worker from the Youth Protection Department was thrown onto a wall by a woman at the Sherbrooke courthouse.
Four months earlier, court interpreter Hai Thach nearly died after being stabbed while working.
PHOTO FRANÇOIS, ROY, THE PRESS
Court interpreter Hai Thach came close to death after being stabbed at the Longueuil courthouse.
Present at the conference, Simon Jolin-Barrette opened his speech by emphasizing “his courage, his resilience and his sense of public duty. »
“This type of attack is completely unacceptable. Violence has no place in courthouses,” he denounced.
Moved, Hai Thach welcomed the plan announced by the government. “Better late than never,” he said.
The one who returned to work shortly after the attack maintains that courthouses are safe places. “I always feel safe,” he stressed.
The rest of the envelope, or 23.4 million, will be dedicated to training and hiring new special constables. A cohort of 144 new constables is expected in the network by spring 2025.