Faced with an outbreak of violent events involving firearms, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) will organize a forum next January to find solutions to this phenomenon which has claimed many victims in recent years. month.
The SPVM wishes to bring together representatives of the community sector and the institutional sector at an event to be held on January 26 and 27, explained the deputy director of the SPVM, Vincent Richer, during a press conference on Monday with Valérie. Plant.
The mayor admitted that holding such a forum would not stop the shootings, but that the exercise would allow solutions to be found. “We have to think collectively,” she said, referring to the willingness of partners, such as school administrators, to participate in such discussions.
Previously, the Diversity and Social Inclusion Department will hold a meeting with community partners on violence and prevention on December 7 and 8 in order to draw up a portrait of the situation.
Asked about the phenomenon of “scoring” which could be at the origin of the death of Thomas Trudel, Vincent Richer did not want to reveal details of the investigation for fear of harming the work of the police. Remember that this phenomenon is based on the desire for revenge between street gangs. However, these acts of violence are likely to cause victims who have nothing to do with the conflicts, as could be the case for Thomas Trudel.
Hiring of police officers
Mayor Plante also admitted that her election promise to hire 250 police officers by the end of 2022 was not a net addition of police officers, but would notably replace retirements. She maintained that this hiring objective had been determined with the SPVM and that discussions had taken place with the Fraternité des policemen. The mayor, however, did not want to quantify the net increase in the number of police officers envisaged by the end of 2022. “In the same way where we listened and added police officers as needed, I am thinking of the ELTA squad among others, we will be there depending on the situation, ”she said.
Further details will follow.