The efforts made by the SPVM, in particular by the investigators of the Organized Crime Division, made it possible to stop the hemorrhage of firearms discharges in Montreal in 2022, and even to make them bend slightly.
According to a compilation of The Press and figures from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), 182 firearm discharges – murders, attempted murders and victimless shootings combined – occurred in the metropolis in 2022 – as of December 21 – compared to 206 for the whole of 2021, a decrease of around 12%.
The number of 182 is partial, however, as it only includes December shooting events that were publicized.
Firearm discharges have been steadily increasing since the end of 2019 in the metropolis.
According to the National Enforcement Support Team firearms law (ENSALA), overseen by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 646 bullets were fired in Montreal between 1er January and mid-September 2022. On 27 occasions during this period, ten or more shots (high intensity discharge) were fired in the same event.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
A teenager was shot and wounded in the Plateau Mont-Royal last January.
The prize goes to three events that occurred a few hours apart on August 10 and 11, during which 100 casings were struck, according to ENSALA statistics.
“Eighty bullets is the possibility of having 80 dead,” said Commander Francis Renaud of the SPVM’s Organized Crime Division, referring to two of these events.
The Key: Arrests
In 2022, its investigators from the Antigang section, the Narcotics squads and the Multisectoral Firearms Teams (EMAF) seized around 130 firearms – mostly handguns and a few automatic weapons –, including 35 in the West region only.
They also arrested several individuals, including the suspected perpetrators of one of the shootings in which 100 shots were fired, when an uneventful woman was injured, in August.
When we stopped them, we saw that there was a drop. August was much quieter in the Northeast from then on.
Francis Renaud, Commander of the Organized Crime Division of the SPVM
“We seized firearms, yes, but it’s not the firearms we found that make shootings go down, it’s the arrest of individuals. The fact that we remove them from the street, it makes people talk in the community and there must be a response to these shootings, ”explains Francis Renaud.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Commanders Simon-Luc Tanguay and Francis Renaud, of the SPVM
“We went to a conference in Toronto and it’s the same thing there. They realized that once the perpetrators of the shootings are in prison, it lowers all the statistics. It is the arrests that will dictate whether it will continue or stop, ”adds Commander Simon-Luc Tanguay, boss of the EMAF and narcotics squads in the South West.
A good year
In addition, the investigators of the Antigang sections seized more than 150 kg of cocaine, including 80 within the framework of the same investigation called Auxo.
All of this year’s major investigations had a common denominator: “What we’ve been shining our spotlight on is a Montreal-Toronto supply corridor,” says Commander Renaud. The kilogram, which currently trades at just $27,000 according to him, demonstrates, in a game of supply and demand, that “the supply is great”.
During the year, Antigang investigators also seized more than 7 million methamphetamine tablets, 500 kg of bulk methamphetamine and several kilograms of crystal meth. Which makes Commander Francis Renaud say that his investigators, who he says are seasoned in the mores of the street (streetwise), have had “a whole year”.
Declining overdoses
Another of the priorities of 2022, more particularly of the investigators of the Narcotics Sections, was the fight against opioids and, by extension, against overdoses.
According to figures from the SPVM, as of December 17, there were 388 overdose cases compared to 468 for the whole of 2021, a drop of 17%.
As of December 17, there have been 68 of these 388 overdose deaths and 91 of 468 deaths in 2021.
However, these data only represent cases that are reported to the police.
“Overdoses are always in the news. In Quebec, we are doing relatively well compared to British Columbia and Ontario, but that should not be overlooked. At street level, we are attacking fentanyl and etonitazene as a priority, ”assures Commander Tanguay.
To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.