The police department is Montreal will soon receive more money to fund its operation after the recent wave of gun violence. The police department is expecting reinforcement amounting to $5.5 million, money that will be used to hire civilian aids and officers.
The city’s mayor, Valerie Plante, announced the boost last Sunday, a day after the most recent case of gun violence in the Saint-Michel area that saw one person injured and several others detained.
Mayor Valerie noted that the funding will be used to add about 42 posts to the police force, slots that will be filled with civilians and police officers whose job will be to investigate crimes and implement anti-gang measures.
However, not everybody thinks this measure will stem gun violence. Ted Rutland, Associate Professor at Concordia University, who specialty is the intersection between urban geography and race, says its is better for the city to spend such resources on community development to end gun violence.
He added that Plante’s announcement was a huge disappointment, noting that community organization are better placed to handle gun-related crimes, not the police.
A few days ago, a letter sent to the Brotherhood of Montreal police said that municipal authorities have no understanding of public safety and are only supporting the police because it is an election cycle. The letter was written after police officers became the latest target of a shooting attempt outside of the McGill University Health Center.
