Critics skeptical of city’s plans to create new unit for non-crime 911 calls: ‘No real action’
Posted June 25, 2023 3:19 pm.
Last Updated June 25, 2023 7:02 pm.
Montreal could create a new unit for non-crime and non-violent emergency calls, where police officers are not needed to respond.
The project, which is still in the works, is something community members say is long overdue – and a proposal they’ve heard before from officials.
“We hear the city and police continually saying the police are not the best institution to respond to problems in the city. We see this continually restated commitment, but no real action on this, sadly,” said Ted Rutland, a professor at Concordia University.
Alain Vaillancourt, the city’s executive committee member responsible for public security, said during a presentation of the police service’s 2022 activities report that the city is working towards putting in place a pilot project.
“Where calls that are non-violent, non-crime related, that are purely mental health, will go to another unit that is not police related,” said Vaillancourt last week.
“We’re working with 911, we’re working with EMIC (Équipe métro d’intervention et de concertation), we’re trying to meet all those obstacles to put something in place, and we’re working as quickly as we can.”
Within Montreal, some boroughs have access to a civilian squad – EMIC. Those squads are primary made up of social workers who do not respond directly to 911 calls but can be alerted by police when needed.
They primarily deal with problems concerning co-habitation between the unhoused population and business owners. A new unit would extend their responsibilities to responding directly to non-criminal emergencies.
‘It’s a political promise’
“The SPVM do a good job, but I’m thinking we need more resources for (individuals),” Montrealer Louis-Pierre told CityNews.
Amid safety concerns, those living in the Village say more help is needed in responding to non-criminal emergencies – not just for business owners, but also residents.
“It’s business oriented,” said Luc-Alexandre Perron, who has lived in the Village for 10 years. “They don’t care about the residents. The needles in my backyard are not the same as drunk people on a terrace.”
Perron says the talk of a new pilot project is something he’s heard time and time again. “They’re just talking about it, it’s a political promise,” he said.
Rutland is also questioning the city’s lack of action.
“It seems like it’s not a priority for this government and one wonders why it isn’t,” the university professor said. “Why are some things a priority for the city government and this isn’t? They say they support it, but no movement is happening.”
CityNews reached out to the City of Montreal for a statement but did not immediately hear back.
Vaillancourt, in his response to questions during the presentation of the police service’s 2022 activities report, said proper measures are needed before the pilot project can begin.
But Rutland says it’s been two years of no progress.
“One of the things they keep saying is we have to do a study of 911 calls we’ve been receiving and figure out which ones can be diverted to the civilian squad,” he said. “But they’ve been saying that for two years now and there doesn’t seem to be any advancement.
“There’s also a sense that we need to make sure that the proper civilian services need to exist, which is true, but you have to develop it. It would be really nice to see a timeline and some kind of project that involves a lot of community consultation put in place, so we can see when this will be put in place.”
