Gun violence in Montreal down 26% last year: SPVM

Montreal police say gun violence was down 26 per cent in 2023 compared to the year before.

The SPVM credits that drop to an increase in police visibility and strategies of targeted deterrence.

The police force says officers made 351 arrests in connection to firearms in 2023, and that 774 firearms were seized.

Montreal police Chief Fady Dagher released those statistics at a press conference Tuesday alongside Cédric Couture and Marc Charbonneau, also of the SPVM, and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.

They highlighted the work of certain police teams and programs such as ÉCLIPSE and ARRET, as well as a visibility initiative in which officers meet Montreal youth in elementary and high schools.

Also part of its year-end information session, the SPVM said its police force grew for the first time in five years – with 362 new fires for a total of 4,580 personnel (compared to 4,489 in 2022).

Looking ahead, the SPVM outlined a series of goals for the next three years, including earning the trust of all Montrealers and “fully regain the capacity to act.”

The SPVM also increased their task force, reaching its target with 300 new officers. According to Dagher, 20 per cent of the recruits are visible minorities, “a huge progress” he calls it.

“We try to build a trust between the police and we want to make sure that the SPVM become more and more the mirror of the community,” said Dagher.

Joel DeBellefeuille from the Red Coalition, a Montreal-based organization that advocates for the elimination of racial profiling, says that in order for people to trust the police, it takes more than just an increase in visible minorities in the force; practices like random street checks must come to a stop.

“The SPVM has to understand that it’s just more than hiring people, it’s training and repetitive training without slacking on it,” said DeBellefeuille.

“Let’s be honest here, the BIPOC community do not trust the police and that’s a fundamental reason why the practice continues.”

In June 2023, Montreal police (SPVM) released a second report commissioned by the department on street checks and racial profiling. It concluded that racialized people are disproportionately targeted by random street checks. The university researchers that put together the report recommended temporarily suspending random police stops.

Dagher says he wants to improve the culture at the SPVM.

“We’re gonna change, we’re gonna find ways to do a better job but the tools that we are using we need it but the behaviour of our police officer, the way we intervene, the way we talk to people the way we explain them what their right is…these are issues that we are addressing in 2024,” said Dagher.