Montreal insists program to prevent armed violence won't target racialized youth
"We are not going to unload a whole bunch of police officers in the school and start arresting people."
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After consulting with community groups, street workers and youth who live in Montreal’s most dangerous neighbourhoods, the city and its police department are hopeful that a new initiative will reduce armed violence among teenagers and deter them from joining street gangs.
The program, called Équipe-école, will focus on prevention in schools and supporting community groups, students and parents in neighbourhoods plagued by gun violence, said Alain Vaillancourt, the executive committee member overseeing the project, which will be rolled out in the next few weeks.
Community groups that deal with at-risk youth and undocumented students criticized the project last week, but Vaillancourt defended the plan and insisted that racialized youth will not be targeted nor arrested in school.
“We are not going to unload a whole bunch of police officers in the school and start arresting people — that’s not what’s going to happen,” Vaillancourt emphasized in an interview with the Montreal Gazette.
The 10-member team will be composed of three police officers with experience in crime prevention, six civilian members who are experts in criminology or cybercrime and a police lieutenant who will oversee the group’s work.
If a principal or a community police officer gets wind of a problem that could lead to violence, they can contact the team for support.
“If a school identifies a specific issue going on or a worrying trend, the team will come into the school and work with the community groups who are already in the school,” Vaillancourt said.
“They can help diagnose what’s going on and provide solutions. Research shows that if you can stop kids from doing small crimes (early on), you prevent bigger types of crimes and violence. That’s the goal.”
The squad was created following a forum held in March to find short- and long-term solutions to the growing problem of gun violence.
During the forum, 20 young Montrealers spoke about how they’re affected by violence in their community and threats on social media.
Many spoke of the need to prevent the proliferation of handguns and to provide more after-school activities for young people.
Over the past 18 months, several Montreal teenagers have been fatally shot or stabbed.
Specialists in cybercrime will monitor online platforms popular with teenagers to try to warn authorities of organized fights. They will also keep an eye out for gang members who are trying to recruit teens while they’re playing video games.
One of the project’s goals is to steer young people away from violence and gangs.
During the forum last spring, authorities heard from parents who said they needed advice on how to deal with teens who are being negatively influenced by gang members or other troublemakers at school or in the community.
“Parents are asking: ‘What do I do if I see my kid brandishing a handgun on Instagram?’ ” said Vaillancourt, who worked as a social worker for 20 years before entering politics.
“If someone sees that, we need to do something about it.”
With young people spending more time on apps like Snapchat and TikTok, cyberbullying and gang recruitment is growing in some communities, Vaillancourt said.
“Any opportunity they have to recruit vulnerable kids, they do it,” he said.
The program is available to all schools across the island of Montreal, and school boards and school service centres have all been informed of the new unit.
Vaillancourt has reached out to 20 community organizations to explain the project and has told them to contact him if they are unhappy with how the officers are dealing with teenagers in schools.
“They all have my number,” he said.
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