The Montreal police chief, Sylvain Caron, persists and signs: 25 years after the inauguration of the neighborhood stations in the metropolis, his service must change its model if it wants to survive.
In interview with The Press, Chief Caron reiterated that this “modernization” must involve a reduction in the number of posts, but refused to give a precise number of closures or to identify the targeted neighborhoods. He wants to consult beforehand.
“We have reached a tipping point,” he said in a telephone interview on Friday morning. We have to find a different way to serve the population. ”
The day before, Chief Caron had revealed to elected officials in Montreal that he intended to submit to them, during the year 2022, a project for in-depth reform of the service. At the heart of his plan: to make Montrealers understand that it is the police who protect them, not the police stations. And thus be able to make significant savings by assembling his troops in fewer posts.
“Unfortunately, the building currently (and that’s correct, it’s human) means a guarantee of safety. This is not what I want. It is the active police presence on the territory that must become a guarantee of security, ”he said in an interview. “I am dividing my forces all over the territory. As I said yesterday: we are everywhere and we are nowhere at the same time. In some places the police are overworked, while in other places it is a decent workload. ”
Things have changed in 25 years, says Caron. “Let’s just look in legal terms: the requirements when working on files. In terms of labor standards: parental leave, maternity leave, preventive withdrawals. The whole social context and the standards that have changed mean that in 2022, we no longer have the model we need to be able to respect the citizens’ ability to pay and to offer a service, ”he added. he added, while his service shows a largely negative balance sheet for 2021.
The Brotherhood in agreement
At the Montreal Police Fraternity, we welcome Sylvain Caron’s project with open arms.
The workforce is currently dispersed throughout the territory, causing excess work and exhaustion, according to Yves Francœur, the president of the union. “What we need are staff on the ground, on the street. Not in buildings, ”he argued.
“We have reached the point where elected officials and citizens must make a decision: we are maintaining the model and adding police officers. Or we say that the model is not viable and we reduce the number of positions, ”said Mr. Francœur. “I just hope they will make the right decision for the citizens. ”
Mr. Francœur indicated that his “idea is not yet settled” as to the optimal number of neighborhood stations for a territory like Montreal. His organization will participate in the upcoming consultations, he said.