The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, in turn launches a heartfelt cry to Quebec parents: “give us a hand” to prevent young minors from falling into crime. He maintains that changes are coming in the prison environment to prevent criminal networks from operating.
“All parents in Quebec must be able to give us a helping hand, to prevent instead of curing. It’s not easy, but we have a fight together as a society to bring back these young people who fall into petty crime,” Mr. Bonnardel argued in a press scrum on Friday.
He was taking stock after a meeting he had requested with the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), the Police Service of the City of Montreal (SPVM) and the Police Service of the City of Laval (SPL).
In recent days, the SPVM has arrested around ten minors suspected of having participated in violent crimes, including an arson and shots fired at the facade of the office of Me Émile Benamor, the owner of the building. having been engulfed in flames last week, killing two people.
The head of the SPVM, Fady, Dagher, launched a similar appeal to parents on Thursday, inviting them to be on the lookout for changes in their child’s behavior.
“We approach parents to tell them that their child has taken a bad path, but some do not listen or do not believe us. If someone knocks on your door, it’s not by chance. When someone comes to meet you, don’t close the door. »
Greater penalties?
For the minister, the fact is that “petty crime” very often becomes “serious crime” from the age of 15. “It’s unacceptable and it’s disgusting that we’re using 14-year-olds to do the dirty work, like we saw in Frampton,” he said, referring to 14-year-olds – including One died – who had fired AK-47s at the Hells Angels premises in Frampton, in Beauce.
Mr. Bonnardel also says he is open to discussing the possibility of giving greater sentences to young criminals, but only for certain types of crimes. He will discuss it with his counterparts in Yellowknife next week during a federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) meeting.
Quebec is also currently discussing with police chiefs ways to attack the leaders of criminal networks who continue to operate even from inside the prison. “We want to counter the famous drones which enter our detention centers too easily,” said the CAQ elected official on this subject.
“Technological tests” are underway to better identify and control these drones before landing, the minister revealed. He also says he is in active discussions with the federal government to use “wave jammers,” which would prevent criminals from using cell phones inside prisons.
“It’s a complete paradigm shift that we’re seeing with what Quebec experienced in the biker wars 25 or 30 years ago. […] Organized crime, unfortunately, is becoming more and more disorganized,” continued Minister Bonnardel, welcoming the strong collaboration of police forces.
Earlier, Thursday in the National Assembly, Prime Minister François Legault also denounced the situation. “It makes no sense what is happening with our young people, who are involved in street gangs and then commit crimes. I will never accept that,” he insisted.