September 19, 2008, 3:07 PM

Service de police de la Ville de Montréal Directeur Yvan Delorme offers clarification on Neighbourhood Policing.

As a 26-year veteran of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal and its chief for the last 4 years, I would like to offer some clarification on the Neighbourhood Police approach that has made our environment so much safer.

Since the first neighbourhood stations were opened in 1997, the number of criminal code infractions has decreased by 24%. In 2007, the number of crimes in Montréal was at its lowest in over 30 years. And the trend is continuing in 2008, with a further drop of 6% for the first 7 months of the year, including a 50% drop in homicides in comparison to 2007. The road safety record is getting better, and the number of fatal collisions declined by 29.6%, from 54 in 2006 to 38 in 2007.

Working for the citizens whom it is our duty to protect and service, we are always ready to meet the challenges that confront us today and those that threaten tomorrow. Neighbourhood policing is an especially effective model of police innovation for rising to this task.

Officers who are visible and present in the community

The SPVM's neighbourhood policing model has been growing and adapting, and I have seen extensive development in these last 11 years. Because to be effective and contemporary, it has to adapt to our constantly changing environment, to the needs of the public, and to the resources at our disposal.

In 2003 and in 2007, through our Optimisation de la Police de quartier project and the review of our service offer, we made some major adjustments. In particular, we restructured our stations, redeployed our staff, and consolidated the units mandated to support the neighbourhood stations.

These changes sought to strengthen the neighbourhood stations' capacity to intervene and to put more police officers where the people wanted to see us: in local streets, parks, metros and schools.

Since 2003, we have not only been more visible but also closer to the citizens. The optimization made increased foot patrols a priority. Foot patrol is an ideal way to increase visibility, get closer to the people, and gain an intimate knowledge of the territory and the residents' needs.

From June to July 2008, 23% of Montrealers saw a police officer on foot patrol, 8% more than during the same period in earlier years. Over the course of 2007, the total number of foot, metro and bicycle patrol hours carried out by SPVM officers was 301,275. There is no doubt - at the SPVM our officers are closely acquainted with the realities in the neighbourhoods and in constant communication with the public.

Greater visibility and more officers in the neighbourhood stations: since 1999, the number of permanent and temporary officers rose from 4,074 to 4,599, an increase of 13% or 525 officers.

The changes we have made to our neighbourhood policing model over the last 11 years have increased the number of staff in the neighbourhood stations. In 2007 alone, our service offer review allowed us to redeploy some 200 officers to neighbourhood policing activities.

Our challenge is to continue to find ways to strengthen our ability to fulfil our mission and deploy staff in the field while we cope with the increased complexity of crime issues such as the street gang phenomenon and cybercrime in the face of regular rationalization of public finances and an increase in the demand for services. Since 2001, for example, the need for crowd control services for local and international events has increased by 35%.

The police are very present in our streets, schools, metro and parks. The data speak for themselves.

Neighbourhood policing is here to stay

Yes, the Neighbourhood Police is here to stay, because its advantages are undeniable: quality client service, lasting solutions for problems, neighbourhood by neighbourhood bridge-building with the citizens, cooperation with partners and the professional dedication of 7,000 people - men and women, old-stock Quebecers and people from the cultural communities - who make up the SPVM team and who each play a critical role in the organization.

The strength of this policing model can be found everywhere across the territory, including in Montréal-Nord where the events of last August caused and continue to cause reactions we are watching closely.

In reference to those events, I want to point out that every police officer, like every citizen, has the right to presumed innocence. We must avoid condemning police officers in the court of public opinion. In Montréal-Nord like elsewhere in the territory, our police officers are pursuing their dialogue with the citizens, listening to what the community has to say and maintaining close lines of cooperation with citizens' groups and organizations.

The harmonious development of our communities is a shared responsibility, and the SPVM clearly takes ours very seriously.

Satisfaction and trust above all

As always, we are striving to maintain the respect and trust of the public we serve, in order to effectively fulfil our mission.

The public's needs are extensive, and officers are often called on to intervene in very complex situations. In this sense, the police officers' work is very demanding. I believe they deserve public support.

Yvan Delorme
Directeur, Service de police de la Ville de Montréal

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