Dozens of SPVM officers, some undercover, being deployed to patrol downtown this spring

Starting in May, Montreal police will be deploying 30 to 35 officers to patrol downtown to improve the sense of security for citizens and to respond to crime and social issues often related to people experiencing homelessness.

“The cops who are going to be walking on the beat, on the street, they’re going to be focusing on only one aspect, the people, the business people, the owner of the condos, the people who are living here, and the vulnerable people,” said SPVM police chief Fady Dagher.

“It’s a good news for the village and all of downtown because there’s going to be more police officers helping people that need to be helped and arresting criminals that need to be arrested,” said Gabrielle Rondy, the executive director for the Société de développement commercial (SDC) in the Village.

Chief Dagher adds the officers will work to find the right balance between prevention and repression when patrolling the streets, adding most will be in uniform, but some will be working undercover.

“Majority of them in uniform, but we’re going to have some investigators working on deep cover to make sure we’re going to arrest the people who are selling the drugs and reselling the drugs,” explained Dagher.

James Hughes, the president and CEO of Old Brewery Mission says that his organization is worried that the emphasis on criminality and social issues being put together could result in more ticketing and more coercive measures than were being used before.

“We’ve got to make sure they’ve got the right training and the right direction and directives to be able to make sure they’re intervening with their hearts and their brains. And not just displacing people from one place to the other, ticketing people for being homeless. They’ve really got to be able to intervene with a social mindset,” said Hughes.

“I’m expecting from them to have a balance in the intervention,” said Dagher, adding, “when a person needs help, it’s not a time to give them a ticket or it’s not a time to just judicialize the person. We’re going to have the right partners with us to give us help and then we’re going to be able to retreat.”

“We don’t say today that this approach is going to change everything. I mean, we still need to continue to innovate with social services,” said Robert Beaudry, the executive committee member responsible for homelessness for the City of Montreal.

The officers will be present in downtown Montreal from the Village all the way to the Atwater metro station.

The SPVM will also collaborate with other social agencies, including social workers, to help people experiencing homelessness.

Chief Dagher says the number of officers downtown patrolling will increase to 45 in the fall.

“It’s not temporary. What we’re doing is permanent. And we’re going to have some success and sometimes we’re going to have to adapt,” explained Dagher.