Coalition of organizations call on Montreal to stop implementation of police-in-schools program

A coalition of organizations is calling on the Plante administration to stop the implementation of a Montreal police-in-schools program and invest in resources for schools instead. They say it’ll negatively impact marginalized youth.

This comes after it was announced Sept. 15 that some Montreal high schools, in parts of the city recently touched by violence, will soon see a new intervention team in their hallways – expected to be deployed this fall.

“The coalition is concerned about the ramifications of this program on marginalized youth, specifically Black, Indigenous, racialized, immigrants, disabled students and newcomer students who will be negatively impacted by this team surveilling and policing students in their schools,” they said in a press release.

Café-Jeunesse Multiculturel and École Sans Police want to see alternatives – like more investments in mental health and an increased number of counsellors in schools.

“Police in schools does not make schools safer. It increases an environment of hostility especially for children of colour,” says Nanre Nafziger, assistant professor in education, parent and organizer of community group École Sans Police.

“If the city of Montreal continues to address the symptoms of systemic racism and not the causes, we are not going anywhere great. We must aim to change the environment that causes these disparities and these problems,” said Blaine Haile, Head and Hands.

The SPVM and city of Montreal announced earlier this month that the Quebec government was releasing $4.05 million to implement a police-in-schools team – with the city also contributing $400,000.

The team called Équipe-école will be made up of 10 members, including specialized officers, psychosocial workers, criminologists and a specialist in cybercrime.

(CREDIT: Martin Daigle/CityNews)

The SPVM has said that the in-school team will also be working on establishing prevention programs on various online platforms – and will work alongside community organizations to provide intervention support to young people who exhibit violent behaviour or who are at risk of committing or being subjected to violence.

The creation of the team is part of the commitments the SPVM made after forum last winter for solutions to the increase in gun violence seen in Montreal.

“What we are calling for is above all to change the way we look at our neighbourhoods and to change this perception of saying no, we need to do more, but not in terms of repression, but yes to social support and assistance,” said Slim Hammami, coordinator, Café Jeunesse Multiculturel.

“While police in Westmount represent security and civil order, here in Henri Bourassa and Montreal Nord, they represent the cause of their worries, the reason for the imprisonment of their fathers and brothers and the constant assault of their neighbors.

“Our schools should be communities, they should be places of safety. They should be sanctuaries where children can come and escape any of the terrors they face in the world. School should not be a place that leads children to prison. It should not be a place where children fear for their safety or for the safety of their families,” added Nafziger.

According to the SPVM, this new program, also known as Équipe-école, aims to prevent violence and the use of firearms among at-risk youth and contribute more to the safety of Montreal neighbourhoods.

During the Montreal forum on combating gun violence, various partners noticed a need for violence prevention workers in Montreal schools, paving the way to the creation of this new field unit.

In a statement to CityNews Montreal, the SPVM says: “the in-school team will intervene more specifically in neighbourhoods directly affected by gun violence, but also wherever the need arises.”

The police-in-schools program Equipe-école will mainly be used in secondary schools.

The specialized officers will not operate within the institutions and will only intervene by request from a school.

In a written statement provided to CityNews Montreal, the mayor’s office ties the need for the police-in-schools program to a fight against violence.

“A common front: against guns, organized crime, but also for better social equity, more community facilities in neighborhoods that need them, more affordable housing, more links between schools, social workers, community organizations and neighborhood police,” the mayor’s press attachée said Friday afternoon.

The Plante administration says they’re addressing the need for such a project, finding it important to support teachers and community workers, who will benefit from the expertise of these specialized officers and criminologists.

They emphasize their belief that community organizations play an important role in preventing violence.

For this reason, they will be doubling their financial support to ensure more infrastructure projects such as sports fields, pumptracks, green spaces and other urban agriculture projects. This will function as a means to provide “stimulating living environments for young people,” according to the City of Montreal.

An additional two million dollars will be dedicated for projects “by and for young people” to “help prevent youth from going down the road of crime.”

The news conference was held at Café Jeunesse headquarters in Montreal North on Thursday, by a community organizations, parents, youth workers and concerned citizens. Speakers at the event included: Stephanie Germain, community organizer; Slim Hammami, coordinator, Café Jeunesse Multiculturel; Samira, Solidarity Without Borders; Blain Haile, Head and Hands; Nanre Nafziger, École Sans Police; Marlihan Lopez, École Sans Police.