The Projet Montréal party counts among its members some anti-police ideologues, including university researchers who push an agenda of defunding, disarmament and conflations of racial profiling. Which harms the majority of the Montreal population.
The different communities that make it up can only see the increase in violent crimes committed by street gangs and the incivility encouraged by social experiments in the decriminalization of hard drugs, homelessness and mental health problems which are exploding.
While the public safety of citizens is seriously affected, the City of Montreal, through Bochrai Monai, commissioner for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination (BRDS), presented its 2023-2025 commitments to fight against racism and discrimination on October 29, 2024 (1). Unfortunately, she never spoke about the rise of anti-Semitism in Montreal. We learned that the City’s desire was to further tighten the criteria allowing police officers to make arrests and that there would be a review of municipal regulations, which would discriminate against over-represented communities. This ideology would harm police work, but above all, the good citizens of the city of Montreal who would suffer the consequences.
Overrepresentations
It is important to recall the facts that we can read in several reports.
First of all, there is an over-representation of reports and placements of minors, indigenous and black children at the DPJ.
The causes of this over-representation are complex: lack of parental skills among certain parents, physical, sexual, psychological abuse, socio-economic conditions, culture, education, etc. In no case are the police officers responsible for this over-representation which, unfortunately, will continue for certain children, all the way to the penitentiary. It is also important to remember that the vast majority of young people who live in neighborhoods with difficult socio-economic conditions will not be placed in placements or become violent criminals. Only a minority will be led down this path. You have to be careful about generalizations.
This over-representation is also seen in youth centers, following convictions under the Young Offenders Act. The police are not responsible for this overrepresentation.
There is an over-representation of victims of violent crimes, including homicides and feminicides in certain communities according to Statistics Canada (2). The police walk in their blood, take their complaints, arrest them, identify suspects and make arrests. The police are not responsible for their crime.
The overrepresentation of violent, black, indigenous and marginalized criminals in prisons and penitentiaries is not without reason. They were convicted by one of the best justice systems in the world.
Political pressures
Arrests, based on observable facts (2020), which have become the norm in Quebec and municipal by-laws to counter certain incivilities are essential to protect the majority of honest citizens of Montreal.
Succumbing to political pressure, coming from a minority of activists, would have major and negative impacts on public safety in Montreal and Quebec.
1– A marked decline or end to arrests would lead to a decline in crime prevention and criminal intelligence that helps solve violent crimes. Let’s not imitate Toronto, where police officers simply place ribbons around the bodies of over-represented victims.
2– Even greater police disengagement, while the SPVM struggles to recruit young recruits and more and more experienced police officers and executives leave the profession too quickly, discouraged by the lack of support from management and elected officials in Montreal .
3– An even stronger feeling of impunity for members of hyper-violent street gangs, including the “Arab Power” gang, who are increasingly claiming victims who are over-represented in the Arab and North African community in Montreal.
4– Another meteoric increase in crime in Montreal, to the detriment of the security of the majority of the population (3).
The safety of the entire Montreal population requires trusting your police officers. We must refuse to handcuff them, as the municipal administration wishes, because the consequences will be enormous.
Stéphane Wall
Retired SPVM supervisor
Specialized in the judicious use of force
André Gélinas
Retired detective sergeant SPVM
Specialized in criminal intelligence
