Fady Dagher may favor prevention and bringing police forces closer to the population, he does not want Montreal police officers to turn into social workers. Before the Commission de la sécurité publique on Tuesday, the director of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) expressed the wish that community organizations take charge of calls for events that do not involve a criminal element.
“People think that police officers want to become social workers. The police especially do not want — and the chief of police especially does not want — that they become social workers,” indicated Fady Dagher while answering a question from a citizen.
The chief of police, who presented before the Commission de la sécurité publique the report on the activities of the SPVM in 2022, recalled that approximately 70% of the calls made to 911 did not involve crime. Except that the police are required to move even if there is no real danger.
He referred to public statements by London Police Chief Sir Mark Rowley, who three weeks ago announced that his officers would stop responding to thousands of calls relating to mental health issues. “He almost gave an ultimatum that the police couldn’t answer these calls anymore,” Dagher said. “We don’t have the right tools to do it. And we’re not necessarily good at it. »
Fady Dagher pointed out that 80 to 90% of police officers on the ground only respond to 911 emergencies. “We are reactive, we do not solve long-term problems. We just put a patch. »
According to him, community groups and partners should ensure the relay and take charge of calls to 911 concerning mental health issues. He mentioned the Mobile Mediation and Social Intervention Team (EMMIS) which, in the long term, could deal with interventions that do not require the presence of police officers.
“The police will withdraw. The police do not intend to become specialists in social and mental health fields. They will have to [les organismes communautaires] take the pole and that we, we withdraw quietly not quickly so that we work mainly on our mandate. »
The person in charge of public security on the executive committee, Alain Vaillancourt, argued that the City was working on a pilot project related to 911 calls. . There is no service [communautaire] who can answer a call at 4 a.m. and who can be there quickly,” he explained.
In addition, he added, there should be better screening of 911 calls. “We think it is possible. […] We believe that EMMIS could be one of the units that could respond to certain calls and be there 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
Fady Dagher, however, paid tribute to social workers. “With the salaries they make, they are the ones who run the city. It’s the community sector that needs to be strengthened and to which funding needs to be given because these people work tirelessly with budgets that they have to renew every year. These budgets must be sustained over ten years,” he argued.
Recruitment
Faced with a staff shortage of 400 to 500 employees, the SPVM is in an “intense” recruitment campaign and it plans to recruit 310 people in 2023, said Fady Dagher. “The challenge is that we have, each year, between 200 and 220 people retiring and between 50 and 70 resigning. It’s fine to recruit them, but you have to retain them. That means we’re doing all this for ten people. So the issue is major. »
Fady Dagher pointed out that the social issues specific to Montreal, the media pressure, the cost of living and even the lack of parking sometimes put off the young police officers. The chief, however, pointed out that the signing of the new collective agreement with the police, which provides for an increase in the overall remuneration of the police by 20% over 5 years, should help attract more police officers to the metropolis. “We have become competitive and attractive again,” he believes.
Eventually, the SPVM hopes to be able to hire up to 425 people per year starting in 2024. It also plans, starting in the fall, to immerse recruits in an immersion experience in the community, without weapons and without uniforms, so that they know the reality of Montreal better.