Users of the Longueuil courthouse will now have to submit to a metal detector search, an additional security measure put in place a week after the stabbing of a court interpreter.
“We applaud this decision. Since last week, they had increased the measures, but we were mainly talking about visual searches, so we asked people to open their bags and we looked. There, we are really at a higher level and that is so much the better,” says the president of the Union of Special Constables of the Government of Quebec, Franck Perales.
Last Tuesday, a court interpreter was stabbed by a man inside the Longueuil courthouse, around noon. The tragedy then relaunched the question of security in these establishments where many criminal individuals pass through.
The day after the attack, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, nevertheless insisted that it was an act of “senseless violence, but which remains an isolated act”.
“I want to reassure citizens and repeat that our courthouses are safe places. Special constables and security agents are on the ground in courthouses in Quebec to ensure the security of the premises,” he continued in a statement sent by his office.
Standardize security
For Mr. Perales, much more must be done and quickly. A meeting is planned for Thursday between his union and Minister Bonnardel. “What we want is to have a timetable and a clear plan from the government for the installation of X-ray machines and metal detectors in all courthouses in Quebec. For the moment, this is done on the basis of local initiatives. It has to be standardized,” he says.
So far, most courthouses are not equipped with them. In Montreal, metal detectors have been in place for several years. In several other municipalities, however, it is still the visual search that takes precedence. ” It’s not sufficient. No matter how much you search a bag, you may not see a weapon hidden in the coat,” says Mr. Perales.
“We work in an uncontrolled environment with a higher level of crime than elsewhere. And the danger is more and more present. We feel it on the ground. People are aggressive, violent, on edge. What happens in society does not spare the courthouses,” he continues.
Since last week’s incidents, “there are many authorities in courthouses and even the judiciary who are asking that security be quickly increased,” says Mr. Perales.
The alleged perpetrator of this attack, Alexandre Garcés, aged 44, has been facing charges since last Wednesday of serious assault, armed assault and carrying a weapon with a dangerous purpose.
For his part, the victim, Hai Thach, is a court interpreter well known to the judicial services and very popular. His condition was considered critical for a while after the incident, but he survived, it was confirmed on Tuesday.
With Vincent Larin