Montreal launches private security patrols in high-crime areas

Montreal's central Ville-Marie borough will be deploying private security guards in some neighbourhoods as part of a pilot project aimed at tackling the rise in drug and other criminal activity.

These guards will patrol three high-crime neighbourhoods to observe activities such as drug dealing, drug consumption, incivility and harassment. But rather than intervene directly, they will share observations with police and the city's social intervention teams.

This comes as merchants, residents and visitors to sectors like the Village and Chinatown continue to raise safety concerns.

The $120,000 pilot project will place private security agents from Sirco in these areas, along with Old Montreal. The agents will work in both uniform and plainclothes.

"There's a lot of pressure on the Ville-Marie borough — a significant presence of criminal activities — and it's important for us to add another tool," said Robert Beaudry, a Ville-Marie city councillor.

The level of criminality has risen since the pandemic, he said, and the city needs to take action. Police have been doing what they can and there have been some improvements, but more tools are needed, he added.

Complaints in these neighbourhoods have been making headlines in recent years. Last year, a group of business owners and longtime Chinatown residents said they want the city and police to develop a crime prevention plan with the community after the neighbourhood saw a spike in violence and vandalism.

Also last year, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante announced a plan to revitalize the Village that included adding 40 police officers to the area and extending mobile social workers' hours so they can provide care to the neighbourhood's vulnerable population around the clock.

That announcement came after several business owners along Ste-Catherine Street decided to close their terrasses due to safety concerns.

People already observing and reporting, resident says

Since the pandemic, people who live and work in the Village said there's been an influx of people hanging out on the streets, often with addictions and mental illness.

But observing and reporting crime is something residents are already doing, according to Phil Chu, president of the Chinatown Residents' Association.

"There's not a single day I don't witness a drug transaction or someone smoking crack," he said. "It's normal now, sadly."

He said they'll take any help they can get, "but it does seem a bit redundant."

The guards will also keep an eye out for homeless encampments, aiming to connect the unhoused with available city resources.

James Hughes, president of the Old Brewery Mission, supports the project for potentially improving safety, but emphasizes that it should avoid targeting the homeless population.

"Even if there are bylaw offences, like loitering or living in public spaces, these shouldn't be treated as criminal activities," he said.

The project will run until mid-December, after which the borough will evaluate its effectiveness.

Montreal suburbs already have security agents

Some Montreal suburbs already have their own security agents as well as relying on patrols by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).

For example, Westmount's public security department enforces municipal bylaws, provides support services to the Montreal fire department and patrols the municipality 24 hours a day.

All of Westmount's officers are trained in advanced first aid, CPR and how to use a defibrillator.

They are also equipped with and trained to use an expandable police baton, as well as pressure-point tactics, according to Westmount's website.

Hampstead, the Town of Mount Royal and Côte Saint-Luc have similar departments. Côte Saint-Luc also has a program called Volunteer Citizens on Patrol (vCOP) that has been around since 2006. In that case, volunteers patrol the city to observe and report any suspicious activities or problems.