The Montreal Police Service (SPVM) wants to maintain the bond of trust with different cultural communities by increasing the number of police officers from diverse backgrounds.
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This challenge is even more important for several neighborhoods in the area, particularly in the Saint-Michel district. It is in this neighborhood that the director of the SPVM, Fady Dagher, began his career as a police officer. For him, neighborhood station 30 in Saint-Michel is a bit like home.
“At the beginning, when you were transferred to Saint-Michel, you cried. No, no, no, that’s not true. I don’t want to go work as a commander at Saint-Michel […] However, when you live with the community, you discover a whole wealth. You remove the taboos completely. You cry a second time when you have to leave Saint-Michel,” recalled Mr. Dagher.
In 2023, 15% of Montreal police officers come from diverse backgrounds, which is an increase of 4% since 2015. For Montreal North, 44% of police officers come from minorities, which surprised Fady Dagher.
“44% is incredible! I did not even know. Wow! 44%,” expressed the director of the SPVM.
According to him, this data from the police officers in the Saint-Michel district is a reflection of society.
“It certainly removes barriers. It’s certain that it helps with better communication and a better understanding of community codes,” said Fady Dagher.
The SPVM hired 60 police officers from cultural communities in 2023, which is the largest number of hires since 2019.
According to the Montreal Police, the provincial AEC Police Diversity program helps improve the diversity of police officers in the territory. This program aims to promote better representation of the Montreal population within the workforce.
“Our future challenge is to convince families that the Police in Montreal and in Canada are completely different than what you think of the police,” he declared.
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