Sophie Roy, interim director general of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and the first woman to hold the position, has many challenges ahead: the rise of armed violence in the city, the retention of personnel and diversity. iba. within law enforcement is part of it.
In less than a week in office, Sophie Roy assured us that she would maintain the same mission during her 34 years in SPVM : serve and protect.
We are in continuity. That’s why I’m in the meantime. I know all the issues there for the people of Montreal.
The city and crime, however, seem to have changed over the past few months. In particular, armed violence involving young people is recurring in Montreal and continues to rise. But the new CEO of SPVM wants to be reassured.
Montreal, it should always be remembered, remains a safe city, recognized for its quality of life, a place where a person can live safely.he said in an interview with Patrick Masbourian, at All one morning, on Radio-Canada.
” Do we have enough staff? […] There is no fear there. We’ve added staff in terms of gun violence, teams are committed to it, but it’s really total SPVM who does it. “
Therefore, permanent positions were added for the fight against armed violence and SPVM works in partnership with provincial groups, such as the Centaure police strategy, aimed at neutralizing gun trafficking and other criminal activities, he specified.
Many resignations and retirements
However, the president of the Brotherhood of police officers of Montreal, Yves Francoeur, as well as the predecessor of Ms. Roy, Sylvain Caron, expressed their concerns about staff retention and staff shortages. About twenty policemen resigned SPVM in January and February 2022. By 2021, 40 of them have left the ranks.
And that doesn’t count retirements, which can be estimated at about 200 per year, Sophie Roy estimates. But beware, there are hirings too, she insists.
In 2022, we plan to hire 220 police, so we’ve come up with about 20 additional resources, and beyond that 40 resources added to fight armed violence. [en 2021].
” You also have to understand that we are in a generation that is a bit more mobile than me, where we spent 34 years in the police service. “
So there are people leaving, but there are also coming. And that is currently under review: we know how many have left, but we also want to know how many have come with police experience from other backgrounds.he says.
Nor is it about getting anyone. the SPVM has given itself the mission of refining its recruitment strategy within cultural communities and increasing diversity in its ranks. We set up think tanks to move forward at this level, Sophie Roy explains. We also have a campaign to be agents of change SPVMto get more capture in terms of diversity.
So Sophie Roy considers her mandate with confidence and enthusiasm, but she has yet to have her first official conversation with Martin Prud’homme, newly responsible for public security in Montreal and former head of the Sûreté du Québec.
Mr. Prud’homme knows the Montreal environment very well, he knows all our issues. He entrusted me to entrust me with internal affairs and restructuring [du SPVM]so hopefully he will still lend me his trust in the coming monthsSophie Roy’s conclusion making sure, by the way, not to think about applying for a position beyond her temporary position.
Source: Radio-Canada