Denis Coderre intends to proceed with the hiring of 250 additional police officers if he is elected on November 7. The leader of Ensemble Montréal, who presented his security plan on Monday, also plans to ask Quebec to increase to 5,000 the maximum number of police officers at the Police Department of the City of Montreal (SPVM).
“The city is not as safe as it used to be. It is not negative to say it. On the contrary, it is the first step towards improving the situation. To solve a problem, you first have to recognize it, ”said Mr. Coderre. “We will find a safe Montreal,” he promised.
In the short term, there is a shortage of 250 police officers, estimates the aspiring mayor who intends to proceed with hiring to ensure that the SPVM can reach the maximum authorized staff, that is to say 4,800 police officers. Denis Coderre even mentions the possibility of increasing this number to 5,000, which would require the agreement of the Government of Quebec given the existing ceiling.
Denis Coderre also intends to launch, in the first 100 days of his mandate, a call for tenders to provide all police officers with portable cameras. The opposition has accused the Plante administration for years of unduly delaying this project.
Ensemble Montréal is also committed to doubling the number of mixed squads who intervene with marginalized people or people struggling with mental health issues, whether they are ESUP (Équipe de support aux urgences psychosociales) and or EMRII (Mobile Reference and Roaming Intervention Team). Denis Coderre’s party also mentions the possibility of creating a team dedicated to interventions in domestic violence.
In terms of the fight against firearms violence, Ensemble Montréal aims to work better with other large Canadian cities to share best practices in the management of urban violence.
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