“It’s okay to meet them here.”

Atypical scene in the heart of the Chomedey district, in Laval. Young people from a neighborhood with major crime problems confront the police… in basketball. A perennial attempt to build ties between two groups that have nothing in common, the gossips will think. The Press rather witnessed the start of a project that threatens to snowball in the sector.

Basketball in my park is prevention of a particular kind: there is sport, music, but above all, the intention to ease tensions between the Laval police and a section of the population that gravitates around crime or could be tempted to dabble in illicit activities.

Parks are the perfect place to “do your first stupid thing,” summarizes officer Marc-Alexandre Petti, instigator of the project. In the summer, many have no school, no schedule, no structure. The ideal context to get your finger in the cogs, commit your first crime.

Every week, officers from the Laval Police Service (SPL) meet for an informal basketball game with young people aged 14 to 19. Some have criminal records, others – monitored by community organizations – are at risk of turning to crime. Some players are regulars at the park. Participants can bring their friends, regardless of their background.

On Thursday, around 6 p.m., a handful of Laval police officers swapped their uniforms and pistols for jerseys and balls. The many passersby eyed this gathering held at Parc des Coccinelles with curiosity. The greenery-covered area is a place where illegal activities abound. Taxation, graffiti, recruitment: nothing to reassure the neighborhood. The number 45 drawn in white chalk on a tree near the basketball court does not lie. The tag, a clear reference to the street gang that the authorities call “Chomedey 45,” sets the tone.

A street further on stands a motel where prostitution and drug trafficking proliferate. “We are really in the red light area of ​​Laval,” says Denis Larue-Fréchette, director of TRÎL (Travail de rue île de Laval). “It has improved though… In my time, there were syringes lying around everywhere,” continues the speaker.

The arrival of the coachesa few players and the DJ invited for the occasion is enough to bring the players together. We rejoice at each throw in the basket. We get impatient when a teammate is slow to pass the ball.

On the ground, the cold and nonchalant looks of Miguel, a young man from the area, turn into a few high five felt good with his opponent, a Laval police officer a little stronger than him. The latter manages to wind a Miguel stunned by the unsuspected basketball talent of the officer. But the young man proves more agile, seizes the ball, dribbles and scores.

“It’s a friendly match where everyone is welcome… but I like it to be a real competitive sport,” notes agent Marc-Alexandre Petti, with a wry smile, out of breath and sweating.

The encounter between Miguel, the young player from Chomedey, and the police could have been an arrest on the highway, the perfect example of these two solitudes struggling to communicate. But the contact was made on a sports field, a conclusive first step.

“In the street, I have tensions with the police. I don’t want to talk to them about anything. But here, it’s basketball. If the police here were weird, I wouldn’t be here. Here, it’s okay to run into them,” Miguel says. He also invited two of his friends to join the game.

Using peers: this is the strategy of Éric Denis, president of Basketball Laval. “In prevention as elsewhere, it’s better when your friend invites you than an adult you don’t know.”

Mr. Denis takes the opportunity to train young people who will become coaches by the end of summer. Some people need more than entertainment: they want responsibility.

Barriers on both sides

Hostility is rooted in prejudice, believes Denis Larue-Fréchette.

Playing sports with respectful police officers, who play on a voluntary basis, outside the negative framework of intervention, can make a difference in young people. “It becomes motivating. It’s someone in a position of authority who trusts them. Because for the moment, their idol is probably the neighborhood salesman, but maybe their idol could be another adult.”

Not to mention the positive impact on the neighborhood and the citizens’ sense of security.

The encounters of some police officers with the youth of Chomedey often result in arrests. “It could be that they have a prejudice against the teenager. After the basketball game, they know him in a different way,” adds Mr. Larue-Fréchette.