Reports from 2020, 2021 and 2022 (January to April) from the RCMP’s National Firearms Law Enforcement Support Team, obtained by Radio-Canada, confirm this increase, while offering a a more detailed picture of the situation.
Analysis of event data shows continued intensity and frequency of firearm use events
reads the 2021 report.
In these reports, we have compiled the events where firearms were used in Montreal. Cases retained in RCMP reports include those where there is physical evidence that a weapon was discharged (ejected casings or ammunition, projectiles or firearm at the scene and victim with gunshot wounds) .
In particular, we observe that the number of events where gunshots were reported increased significantly between 2020 and 2021. The number of homicides with firearms is also increasing.
There is no argument; the data is there. There is a significant increase [d’événements avec armes à feu]. Is she worrying? Yes
says Marc Ouimet, full professor at the School of Criminology at the University of Montreal.
Shows of strength
Already, in 2020, the RCMP noted in its report a marked increase in the frequency of cases of violence with firearms in Montreal, as well as noticeable changes in the nature of events and their intensity
.
Among the 215 events from 2020 to 2022 where the police found casings on the scene, in 15% of the cases, there were more than ten casings.
The number of events where multiple shots were fired appears to be increasing. There were 11 cases with more than 10 casings found on the scene in 2020, then 22 in 2021 and already 9 in 2022. It is in Montreal-North and Rivière-des-Prairies where there are the most events with multiple shots.
The number of drive-by shootings (drive by) also seems to increase; from 8 in 2020 to 12 in 2021. From January to April 2022, there are already 9.
RCMP reports indicate that many events are shows of force. Mr. Ouimet agrees.
” What’s different now is what you do with the gun. We unload the weapon towards a house, a car, to send messages and to increase our credibility. It’s a new phenomenon. »
According to the SPVM, half of homicides and attempted murders in Montreal involved the presence or use of a firearm.
Homicides in which a firearm is present or used have tripled in 2021, according to RCMP data. The number of attempted murders with a firearm remained relatively stable.
According to Mr. Ouimet, given the increase in the number of events involving firearms, it’s amazing there weren’t more homicides
.
The red light districts
According to Mr. Ouimet, Montreal remains one of the safest big cities in the world
. On the other hand, what has changed is the fact that the population is increasingly confronted with this violence.
Mr. Ouimet believes that we must not only think about the number of victims, but about the impact that these events have on the population.
People are traumatized when they see shooting scenes. Discharging a firearm into a house is devastating. And often hearing gunshots in the evening brings insecurity and worry.
On this subject, the SPVM report notes that the number of calls from citizens concerning gunshots increased by 30% between 2020 and 2021. We see an increase in unfounded calls, adds criminologist Maria Mourani. People react to fireworks, flat tires. And that’s because they don’t feel safe.
In 2020, in four neighborhoods (L’Île-des-Soeurs, Lachine, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Le Plateau-Mont-Royal), the RCMP did not identify any events involving firearms. In 2021, all neighborhood police stations in Montreal recorded at least one event. In 2022, almost every sector has already experienced one.
The neighborhoods to the east and north of the city have the most events with weapons: Montréal-Nord, Rivière-des-Prairies, Saint-Léonard and Saint-Michel have more than twenty events each in 2021 .
There is a sharp increase in events between 2020 and 2021 in Rivière-des-Prairies, Saint-Léonard and Saint-Michel, Pointe-Saint-Charles and in Côte-des-Neiges.
It confirms what I see on the ground; in 2021, it happened in the territories where some street gangs were in conflict
says Maria Mourani. The majority of shootings in 2021 are the lot of gang conflicts. It’s a few gangs that are messing things up.
Mr. Ouimet deplores the fact that it is the underprivileged neighborhoods that continue to be the epicenter of these events. This insecurity is an additional burden that we impose on the populations who are already struggling
laments Mr. Ouimet.
The RCMP also notes a rapid diversification of sources of illegal firearms
and an increase in the quality and sophistication of firearms available
.
The most common weapons found at the scenes are 9mm caliber (141 cases), followed by .30 caliber weapons (38 cases) and .45 caliber (28 cases). There is a sharp increase in events with .45 caliber weapons and 9 mm.
It shows that the majority of weapons used by criminal groups and gangs are handguns, followed by automatic weapons
says Maria Mourani.
Montreal, faced with a new problem
If we compare the Montreal data from the RCMP with the data from the city of Toronto (New window)we note that the number of events per 100,000 inhabitants during which a weapon was used is still much lower in the Quebec metropolis.
” Montreal is trailing behind Toronto. Toronto has had this problem for 10-15 years. The gun culture in Montreal is fairly new. »
This is why Mr. Ouimet and Ms. Mourani say that we must tackle the problem now.
We are not Toronto or New York. But we’ve never seen that in Montreal. There’s a problem that shouldn’t be taken lightly
, says Ms. Mourani. Playing the ostrich could lead Montreal to a situation endemic
like in Toronto, she believes. It’s not normal and it shouldn’t become normal.
The federal government recently announced a freeze
national report on the sale, purchase and transfer of handguns in Canada and the entry of new firearms into Canada. On the other hand, people who already own handguns will be able to keep them, he added.
The SPVM indicates in its annual report that it seized 628 weapons in 2021 and 744 in 2020.
However, Mr. Ouimet believes that these measures are futile
. We attack the laws [sur les armes] and we think that will change something.
The majority of weapons used at these events are not legally purchased weapons, said Mr. Ouimet. There is no relationship between the sale of arms and those who shoot.
According to him, it is rather necessary to increase the pressure on the criminal groups and to increase the legal consequences, even if these recommendations are not always popular.
For her part, Mrs. Mourani believes that the police deficit must be financed, preventive interventions increased and the image of the police strengthened. The police have been badly mistreated in the media. And now, what I am told is that before carrying out a preventive intervention, the police will think about it. They are afraid of finding themselves on the web, filmed, on social networks, accused of racial profiling. So they look away and don’t take any more chances. The consequence of that? Gang guys walk the streets with impunity with guns because they know they won’t be preemptively arrested.
With the collaboration of Daniel Boily
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca