After injecting 90 million in Operation Centaur, Quebec announces a large sum to act upstream. Fifty-two million will be invested in crime prevention among young people to give them options other than violence.
“We may put all the police in the world, the day the weapon ends up in the hands of a 15-year-old, it’s a social problem,” said Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault. The sum of 52 million will be broken down in six ways to offer young criminals positive and constructive alternatives.
“Montreal remains a safe city, but we understand that people are worried and extremely upset,” added the Minister responsible for the metropolis Chantal Rouleau.
The sum of 52 million will finance six initiatives.
The government is allocating $ 11.3 million over 5 years to the Program for the prevention of delinquency through sport, the arts and culture. The initiative currently offers sports and recreation activities to youth at risk of falling into a criminal lifestyle.
The amount of 20.2 million over 4 years will be allocated to community organizations for street work and crime prevention. Quebec thus wishes to reduce staff turnover within these organizations, which is 30%, and which creates a discontinuity in the service offered to young people.
Montreal is facing a new phenomenon linked to social networks where firearms are valued and even brandished, added Mr.me Roller.
For the mayoress of Montreal Valérie Plante, it is necessary to tackle the social, economic and urban conditions which lead to this outbreak of violence.
A grant of $ 366,000 over 4 years is also granted to the City of Montreal to create a position of Aboriginal community development advisor at the SPVM.
A message to young people
The director of the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) encourages young people who are aware of any element relating to firearms and crime to confide in them.
“There are surely young people who are not comfortable with what is happening. I encourage them to talk to a parent, to a worker so that we can intervene upstream, ”Sylvain Caron said during the press briefing.