Hiring at the SPVM | A desired profile change

A ” cast atypical”, officers with more voluminous backgrounds, a more proactive than reactive police force: the Montreal police hope to see this vision come to fruition thanks to the expansion of the AEC Police Diversity program, now accessible to anyone who has a training in a field relating to the social sciences, explains Fady Dagher, director of the police force, in an interview with The Press.

“What we are looking for now are atypical profiles,” immediately states the police chief, in office since last December.

The AEC program provides faster access to a police position with the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), while receiving training in gendarmerie and police techniques. This bridge was previously reserved for indigenous people and those from diverse backgrounds. It is now accessible to candidates with training in a social science field: criminology, social work, etc.

Concretely, what is an AEC profile? A 30-year-old person, for example, who would have previously worked for 10 years in a halfway house with vulnerable people. “This policeman is already arriving on patrol with a piece of luggage. He witnessed human distress. You can’t learn that in a school,” explains Fady Dagher.

A candidate with a cast atypical will also be more likely to understand street codes or the slang more urban if they have worked with marginalized youth before.

The profile of the police officers is very homogeneous, because the route to be hired has been the same for years: police technique, National Police School of Quebec (ENPQ), explains the director of the SPVM.

“I will always need technical expertise. But the crying need is dialogue, mediation. »

In prevention mode

The daily life of agents has changed. Incoming calls require skills that are more human than technical. There is no data available detailing the number of 911 calls directly related to mental health issues or domestic violence.

But Mr. Dagher estimates that in eight and a half hours of patrol, 70% of the calls received by an agent relate to mental health, human distress or even tension between neighbors, lists the chief. A trend not quantified, but felt on the ground.

“But I continue to receive applications from people trained in armed intervention,” he explains. Tactical, technical and strategic skills remain essential. Police forces will always need it. But by hiring diverse profiles, we can work upstream before the crisis situation arises.

“As long as we are mostly reactionary, in 10 years, we will have settled nothing. You have to be able to anticipate the issues with key police officers. It is a more permanent solution. »

Bottleneck

The police are constantly putting out fires. The volume of calls related to human distress is increasing in the field. “We will need upstream solutions” to deal with this bottleneck.

As for the thorny question of manpower, there would be a lack of 400 to 700 positions to fill the ranks, specifies the police chief.

Should the police take the place of street workers and mental health experts? Not at all, nuance Fady Dagher.

The community sector also needs more staff. But even his interventions in the field are dangerous and require the collaboration of the police. “A man in crisis at 2 a.m. who has not taken his medication, we are asked to intervene to secure the premises. The workers call the police to secure the scene before doing their job. »

The risk of calls and interventions related to mental health issues should not be underestimated. “Even the smallest calls can turn around quickly,” says Dagher.