1974: preventing fires
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This text from the weekly Sunday morning was published on July 28, 1974.
Two fires that occurred in the metro, one in December 1971 where the driver of a train died trapped in his cabin and the other in January 1974, led the Montreal Urban Community to review its fire safety rules. A pipe system and water points are installed at the end of the platforms and at regular intervals in the tunnels. On June 10 of the same year, the 94 metro security agents went on strike. At the end of July, it was announced that plainclothes police officers would roam the metro to stop pickpockets and drug traffickers.
1983-1985: Guardian Angels
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Text of The Press published September 12, 1983
Born in New York in 1979 before multiplying in several North American cities, the Guardian Angels civilian militia reached Montreal at the beginning of 1983, while a recruitment period was taking place. A first group took office on September 12, 1983 with, reports The Press, the support of the Montreal police. But very quickly, business got out of control. A split in leadership results in the formation of two groups. Then, one of the leaders is accused of sexual offenses. Relations with the police are fading. In 1985, rare reports indicated that the Angels were still in action before they disappeared.
1986: warning stickers on buses
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In The Press from December 3, 1986
Let’s leave the metro to take the bus. Because in 1986, an important change was made by the Transport Company of the Urban Community of Montreal (STCUM). In the summer of 1986, several drivers were victims of attacks committed by users. Faced with the scourge, the STCUM decided to install exterior alarm stickers sending the code 9-1-1 to the front and rear of vehicles. In December of the same year, half of the buses were already equipped with it. An article published in The duty July 30, 1987 indicates that since their installation, attacks against drivers have decreased by 50%.
1989: the Angels return… under another name
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In The Press from December 3, 1989
They are no longer called Guardian Angels, but Patrolling Citizens. And their beret is no longer red, but blue. Created in May 1989, this new group began holding vigils in the Montreal metro at the end of November. Bus drivers are also demanding their presence on board these vehicles. But the group’s activities will remain ephemeral.
2004-2005: In the wake of other attacks
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1er March 2005, The Press reports the non-functioning of a surveillance camera and the renewal of these devices.
Attacks perpetrated in the Moscow and Madrid metros as well as threatening signs recorded in other networks are prompting the Montreal police to increase their level of surveillance in the Montreal metro. A threat of an attack directly targeting the Montreal metro was sent to a police station in mid-May 2004. Less than a year later, at the end of February 2005, the attack on a 90-year-old woman in the Berri-UQAM station had caused a stir. A surveillance camera facing the scene did not work. The STM always said it wanted to install 12,000 new surveillance cameras, the initial announcement of which took place in 2003.
June 18, 2007: 132 “underground police officers”
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In the light of The Press from June 19, 2007
In the light of The Press on June 19, 2007, police officer Yves Marcoux and his sniffer dog Rosco are photographed to announce that the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) has created a unit of 132 officers ensuring public safety in the metro. They take over from security agents to handle criminal cases. Initially installed at Place-des-Arts station, the offices of this detachment moved to Voyageur Island in 2009. In addition, post 21 of the SPVM was relocated to the bus station in 2019. It is important to remember that the STM maintains its special constable service in the metro.