Reinforced security around places of worship, increased numbers and increased presence at demonstrations: the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) is preparing “for any eventuality” as the first anniversary of the conflict in Gaza approaches.
Published at 10:50 a.m.
“A visibility plan has been put in place since 1is October in different sectors, in order to reinforce the feeling of security [des communautés juives et arabo-musulmanes] », Declared Vincent Richer, deputy director and head of the Organizational Services Directorate of the Montreal Police Service, at a press conference on Friday morning.
Additional resources have been dedicated to a dozen neighborhood stations where the presence of synagogues and mosques is higher.
Already, the SPVM has reported that five suspects were arrested in possession of incendiary material on the night of 1is as of October 2, i.e. two adults and three minors, in Côte-Saint-Luc and in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. For the moment, these arrests could be linked to the conflict, according to the hypothesis of the SPVM, which mentions that the investigation is still ongoing.
Although several hate crimes and incidents have been reported to the SPVM in one year, the organization has nevertheless recorded a drop in these events in recent months.
“Over the last three months, 27 hate crimes and incidents have been reported to us for a total of 288 events [en un an] », Specified the chief inspector of the service of the western region of the SPVM, Mohamed Bouhdid, also present at the press conference.
The visibility plan will be put in place for 24 days in Montreal.
Manifestations
On Saturday, a pro-Palestinian demonstration will be held in front of Place des Arts at 2 p.m.
“There is an increase in the number of protesters as October 7 approaches. So, we expect that tomorrow’s demonstration will still be important,” underlined Mr. Richer.
The SPVM does not rule out the possibility that there could be counter-demonstrations. More protest events are also expected on Monday, as the day marks the first anniversary of the Middle East conflict.
Since October 7, 2023, the authorities have made around a hundred arrests out of the 353 demonstrations that took place in Montreal in connection with the conflict in Gaza, said the SPVM.
“We reiterate our call for peaceful actions, but we also want to emphasize that we will intervene if the situation requires it,” concluded Agent Richer.
