Open in full screen mode The number of events involving a firearm was four times lower in Laval in 2023 than in 2021. Radio-Canada The Laval City Police Service (SPL) reports in 2023 half as many events involving the discharge of a firearm on its territory as the previous year and almost four times fewer than in 2021. In 2019, unfortunately, we saw the phenomenon [of armed violence] take hold in Laval. It should be remembered that we are the third largest city in Quebec in terms of size. We are also the second host country for immigration, so we have experienced challenges that are similar to those of the mainland, all things considered, explains Jean-François Rousselle, deputy director of the criminal investigations section of the SPL. Armed violence, particularly among young people, then continued to increase, reaching a peak in 2021 with 43 shootings reported in Laval territory. Thanks to the efforts made by the Laval police and its partners as part of the Paradox project, the police force claims to have succeeded in reducing the number of shootings on its territory to 13 in 2023 compared to 24 in 2022 and 43 in 2021. At least 57 weapons have been seized and 30 individuals arrested in 2023 as part of Project Paradox.< /p>Loading ELSE ON INFO: Record number of invasive group A streptococcal infections in group A in Canada We are humble and cautious, but we are able to tell you today that we have reduced the number of shootings by almost four times in 2023. A quote from Jean-François Rousselle, director deputy in the criminal investigations section of the SPL This radical drop in events involving firearms is, according to the SPL, the direct result of the efforts that have been made in recent years in Laval to combat armed violence. We are talking here about an increase in patrol time and police visibility operations in public places as well as in licensed establishments. The contribution of the intelligence services was also very valuable in allowing investigators to intervene in the right places at the right time, explains the SPL.
Record number of invasive group A streptococcal infections in Canada
Laval police officers during 'an intervention involving gunshots.
Collaboration with several partners, including other police forces, parapolice organizations, the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions, as well as actors from the school and community sectors, contributes to the success of the strategy of the Laval police force, we add. .
In Laval as elsewhere, one of the striking data in the assessment of operations to combat violence army is the age of the arrested suspects. Urban gun violence is primarily a youth problem.
It’s a phenomenon that takes hold at a very young age. Two thirds of our suspects are between 17 and 21 years old, and that's why in terms of prevention we decided to be present in secondary schools, explains agent Rousselle.
Explaining that we are dealing with a very volatile phenomenon, the SPL is based on a 360-degree strategy which requires constant vigilance from police officers, but above all maintaining sustained pressure on individuals who traffic and supply these weapons to young people. Which is the key to the problem.
This is very good news, welcomes the mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer. Several times, over the last two years, I have had to intervene in terms of public security for events that are tragic, but this morning we are celebrating a great announcement, great news.
Questioned on ICI RDI, the mayor was happy to announce to his fellow citizens that the situation has returned to normal.
We saw in 2020 and 2021, at the end of the pandemic, in Laval as in Montreal and in many other Canadian and North American cities, an increase in events involving firearms, a- he recalled.
The mayor of Laval, Stéphane Boyer, is proud to see that his administration's efforts to combat gun violence are bearing fruit.
To In Laval, we hired more police officers, we ran prevention programs in schools and with community organizations as well. With Quebec, there was the CENTAURE program (New window) which led to better collaboration between police forces. Today we believe that all this is bearing fruit.
Obviously, we must not take everything for granted, it We must not rest on our laurels. We will continue to work hard, continue to make investments, promised Mayor Boyer.
The mayor de Laval made a notable outing last September during an announcement by the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, to denounce the inequity, according to him, of the sums devoted by Quebec to the fight against gun violence in his city compared to what Montreal receives.
Recalling that he heads the third largest city in Quebec in terms of population, he stressed to the minister that the The life of a Laval resident is not worth less than that of a Montrealer.