SPAL Annual Report 2021 | Fewer firearms in Longueuil, but violence just as present

Longueuil believes it has escaped the surge in firearm discharges in 2021, but notes that domestic violence and that among the youngest are on the rise, according to the report from the Longueuil Agglomeration Police Service (SPAL) made public on Tuesday.

Lila Dussault
The Press

Only three events involving firearms took place in Longueuil in 2021, including one homicide. In the other two cases, no injuries were reported.

This is a low record in the context of the outbreak of violence by firearms faced by the metropolitan region, particularly Montreal and Laval. By way of comparison, in the latest report from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal for 2021, 516 crimes against the person where firearms were involved were reported. In Laval, whose population is similar to that of Longueuil, 42 firearm discharge incidents took place in 2021.

“Citizens of the Longueuil agglomeration will no doubt be happy to learn that the territory served by the Longueuil agglomeration police service (SPAL) has one of the lowest rates in Quebec of incidents where of fire were fired, with a rate of 0.69 such incidents per 100,000 inhabitants,” SPAL said in a statement on Tuesday.

fewer street gangs

One hypothesis to explain the few events involving firearms in Longueuil is the absence of a historically established street gang. “It must be said that in our country we have no family, ancestral street gangs, established in the neighborhoods, remarks Fady Dagher, director of the SPAL, in a telephone interview. We don’t have that culture. »

On the other hand, organized crime, especially bikers, is very present in the area. “When we do drug-related operations, we confiscate more and more weapons,” observes Mr. Dagher. This allows us, indirectly, to seize many weapons before they are used in the field. »

Positive, but not perfect

In 2021, 15,379 criminal offenses were committed on SPAL territory, compared to 14,437 in 2020, an increase of 6.5%. However, crime is down 2.9% if we compare this number to the average of the previous five years, which is 15,832 offenses annually.

Note that 3,282 crimes against the person were committed in 2021, a peak since 2016, and an increase of 5.5% compared to the annual average of the last 5 years.

Two murders and seven attempted murders were also committed in Longueuil in 2021. “These are events that occurred following quarrels in various contexts, in particular between people who do not know each other, specifies the SPAL report, but also between people who have intimate ties, including one in a family context and one conjugal. »

The exit from the pandemic explains the increase observed between 2020 and 2021, can we read in the report. Note that 1,472 statements of offense under public health and quarantine laws were also issued in 2021, which boosted the statistics for offenses related to provincial and federal laws.

In addition, 10,172 property crimes (theft, fire, fraud, etc.) were committed in 2021, an increase of 0.4% compared to 2020, but a decrease of 2.4% compared to the average annual for the last five years.

Certain trends are still to be monitored, according to Fady Dagher “The crimes on the increase and which concern us are: domestic violence, crimes of a sexual nature, crimes of fraud and new crime in relation to vulnerable people, lists-t -he. And more technically, vehicle theft, which continues to increase. But all in all, it’s still a positive result. »

Domestic violence and young people

Calls to the police for domestic or family violence rose sharply in 2021 in Longueuil, even compared to pre-pandemic years. A total of 2,071 domestic violence calls were made in the territory, a 12.5% ​​increase from the 5-year annual average of 1,815 calls.

“There is a good side to that, because people dare to complain,” says Fady Dagher.

Another worrying trend: there has been a record number of offenses among 12-17 year olds since 2016, at 461 offences. “There is a marked increase in social media in crimes of a sexual nature among young people, observes Mr. Dagher. And it’s becoming more and more commonplace. When it becomes like that, it multiplies and takes on an underestimated scope. »