Faced with a significant increase in murders and arsons linked to organized crime in 2023, Denis Turcotte, head of the Quebec City Police Service (SPVQ), assures that he is working very hard to ensure that there are no “collateral victims”.
The preliminary results for 2023 differ significantly from those of the previous year. There were four murders, one attempted murder and 13 arsons. All of these events were related to organized crime.
This was an “exceptional” year, the police chief agreed, as no murder or arson linked to these groups had been recorded in 2022. The latter therefore wants to avoid at all costs that “2024 is a mirror image of 2023”.
The tension grows
“Criminalized groups are currently taking up space among each other. The last thing I want is for it to cause collateral damage. That's why I want to act upstream,” argued Mr. Turcotte late Wednesday morning on the sidelines of the plenary session of budget committees organized by the city of Quebec.
According to him, “certain people have decided to no longer respect established (unwritten) rules between them (criminalized groups) that go back decades. It increases the tension between the groups.”
For 12 to 18 months, the SPVQ had expected such an increase in crime because Quebec “is a place that can be very lucrative for organized crime,” Chief Turcotte added.
Nevertheless, “the citizens of Quebec City are very safe,” he emphasized and wanted to reassure them.
Other tasks
Mr Turcotte also recalled that it is a regular occurrence for SPVQ agents to carry out tasks that are not directly related to their work as police officers. Most of these are mental health-related interventions.
“We expect police officers to do police work, given the salaries they earn and the training they have. Currently, we are doing some tasks that are not directly related to our specialty, but we will not let anyone down,” he noted.
Civil law enforcement is a good example of this type of task, he argued. The police could therefore be called if someone did not take medication, eat or bathe, he said.
employment contract
When asked about the ongoing negotiations with the Fraternal Order of Police over the extension of the employment contract that expires on December 31, Chief Turcotte assured that “the negotiating tables are meeting.” I see the future positively. I am very confident that we will reach a negotiated agreement in 2024.”
Her speech stands in stark contrast to that of the Brotherhood's leader, who said two months ago that he expected “difficult negotiations.”
On the other hand, the SPVQ currently has more than 60 ethnic minority police officers, confirmed Denis Turcotte.
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