Quebec grants an additional $5.7 million to intensify the police presence in “strategic places” in the Montreal region.
The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, made the announcement Monday, at the headquarters of the Sûreté du Québec in Montreal.
The additional sum will be used to increase the fight against organized crime and armed violence in the region, he said, alongside representatives of different police services.
More specifically, this amount will enable the establishment of an intervention team dedicated exclusively to the fight against organized crime. It will be made up of 10 police officers from the Sûreté du Québec who will work in collaboration with other police forces, said the Minister of Public Security.
This multidisciplinary team will be made up of five patrollers, two investigators, two intelligence officers and a team leader.
They will carry out “visibility operations” and interventions in bars, cafes and various public places known to be frequented by organized crime and gangs. They should be on the field on October 1.
“The idea is to deter and prevent the use of firearms in public spaces. The members of this team will work in close collaboration with the integrated armed violence intelligence team, among other things, to locate and identify individuals linked to drug and firearms trafficking, to collect intelligence and to prevent crimes. explained Minister Bonnardel.
He pointed out that similar teams are already deployed on the North Shore and the South Shore of Montreal “and the results obtained are excellent”.
Although the police authorities are already apprehending a hot summer and that this additional force will come into operation on October 1, they point out that all the police services concerned are already on the lookout and that armed violence is a priority for all.
And the federal?
Asked about the means of fighting organized crime that must also be strengthened by the federal government, Minister Bonnardel suggested that Ottawa “is well aware of the situation”.
“Our relationship with them… There is no closed door; the door is open. We are in collaboration with them. They are aware of the situation, that the laws need to be tougher and reversal of evidence. The law that Mr. Lametti (David, Minister of Justice at the federal level) must table very soon is a response to the concerns of provincial premiers across Canada. So on that, I can tell you that the communication channel is good,” commented Minister Bonnardel.
“Will everything be perfect? It is to be seen in the next weeks, next months. But we must do everything, do everything, to be able to better support the work of the police and to ensure that we maintain confidence in our justice system and that we give the police the tools to do the job well, “said he concluded.
Minister Bonnardel noted that in the last Quebec budget, an amount of $50 million had been earmarked for this fight against armed violence and organized crime. In recent years, the sum totals $300 million “to deploy an arsenal of means to counter armed violence and the presence of organized crime in Quebec and in the region” of Montreal.