The Government of Quebec and the City of Montreal are jointly investing nearly 2 million to establish a support program for young delinquents aimed at diverting them from crime.
The PIVOT project is inspired by the “Glasgow approach”, named after the Scottish city, which consists of monitoring certain adolescents and young adults very closely to offer them alternatives to a life of crime. It will first be deployed in Montréal-Nord and Rivière-des-Prairies.
PIVOT “ensures a fair balance between prevention and repression,” said Public Security Minister François Bonnardel at a press conference in Montreal. The young people targeted will be offered opportunities to change their lives, but at the same time will receive a clear message: “they are being monitored, they will be arrested again and punished if they reoffend”.
“The idea is to get them out of petty crime by giving them hope, so that they do not move towards medium or serious crime,” continued the minister.
Josefina Blanco, head of diversity at Montreal’s executive committee, argued that the announcement stemmed from the last Montreal forum on gun violence, held last year. A new edition is planned for this fall, she said. The project “will make it possible to concretely increase support and support services in places affected by violence,” she said.
The PIVOT program will target young people “most at risk of committing firearm violence,” added M.me White.