More police recruitment, more social workers, increased resources in the boroughs and neighborhood stations: after two murders in 30 minutes on Tuesday, the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, claims to have a plan so that the metropolis does not not become “the playground of criminals”.
Posted at 6:00 p.m.
“I have a message to send to those on the other side: Montreal is not going to become the playground of criminals. It’s no. But it takes energy, manpower, and thinking outside the box, “said M.me Plant during a press conference held Wednesday at the end of the day.
Admitting that Montreal is “going through a difficult period”, the mayor called for “working together”, without “dividing”, while the acting director of the SPVM, Sophie Roy, was by her side.
If I am asked right away, is Montreal safe? The answer is yes. But the feeling of security is affected. We must not give up and no one here does.
Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montreal
She claims to have breathed “a sigh of relief” on Wednesday, in view of the comments of Prime Minister François Legault. “We will not skimp on the means to restore order and protect citizens, tweeted the latter. We will support our police forces to put an end to this violence. As a government, we will not accept Montreal becoming a shooting range for gangs. »
“Tired of having piece money”
Valérie Plante says despite everything that she is “tired of having piece money”. She also claims to have “asked for a solution at the source and adapted to Montreal” at the National Police Academy to be able to “recruit more staff” police officers over the coming months.
“We also want to put more social workers on the ground to free up police personnel to go elsewhere,” she said, saying that she aims to “maximize mixed squads, and give more oxygen to the police.”
With the help of Quebec and Ottawa – which is not quantified, like all the other commitments – the City also intends to “increase resources in the boroughs and neighborhood stations”.
During an exchange with Justin Trudeau on Wednesday, Ms.me Plante finally swears to have reiterated the need to “ban handguns everywhere in the country”, as quickly as possible, and to tackle the phenomenon of “phantom weapons”, produced with 3D printers. “The sentences given should be discouraging”, also hammered the mayor, adding that the candy sentences “send a message that a few months in prison, we can save ourselves and make a lot of money”.
“We will always take it”
The acting director of the SPVM, Sophie Roy, remained cautious on Wednesday when asked whether there was a shortage of staff within her police force. “If I am asked if I want to have more staff, I tell you that we will always take some. But it is not only the workforce that will solve the problem, ”she offered, however praising her “efficient” organization.
Earlier, on Monday, a war of figures had intervened between the Brotherhood of Montreal police officers and the Plante administration: the first had affirmed that it lacks more than 70 police officers, and the second, that it had hired 229 since November 2021.
And so, who is telling the truth? As much Mme Plant that Mme Roy refused to say it outright. “Currently, we have a retirement cycle because we had massive hiring at some point. This is not the first time that we have experienced retirement cycles, ”she nevertheless reasoned, acknowledging that despite hiring, “there is a surplus” on the side of police retirements.
Sophie Roy says she is especially worried that the police “do not feel the support” of the Montreal population. “We feel the support in general in its entirety, on the other hand on the ground, there is room for the interventions of certain citizens, to harm the work of the police,” she lamented.
Public Security Minister Geneviève Guilbault reiterated Wednesday that she has invested more than $200 million in the fight against gun violence, saying she is “open to doing more to support our police officers and protect citizens.”
At the Montreal Police Brotherhood, President Yves Francœur fired red bullets at the Plante administration on Wednesday. “Our police officers are very dissatisfied with the support shown, whether in terms of staff or equipment. Everything is always complicated. I have been president for a long time and there has never been so much resentment against an administration, ”he said on the airwaves of 98.5.
“The population needs concrete gestures,” implored opposition public security critic Abdelhaq Sari, recalling that his party has already asked to improve or even double the mixed squads in mental health, homelessness and violence. marital. “Since 2019 we have also been asked to deploy a pilot project for portable cameras. The administration did nothing! he exclaimed.