In his bulletin for 2022, which he commented on Friday at the microphone of the program Tout un matin on the airwaves of ICI Première, the president of the Montreal Police Officers Union sounded the alarm about the lack of recruitment and the increase in the number of departures within the SPVM staff.
The observation we made on January 11th is that in 2022 we had 218 departures, including 144 retirements and 74 terminations – that’s outrageous – while we had 207 new hires and ten or fifteen departures since the beginning of the year, says Yves Francoeur.
Yves Francoeur, President of the Montreal Policemen’s Brotherhood
Photo: Radio Canada / Pascal Robidas
“As of January 13, 2023, there are fewer cops on the streets of Montreal than there were on January 13, 2022. There are about 45 fewer. »
— A quote from Yves Francoeur, President of the Montreal Police Fraternity
Already in 2022, the police and the city could not achieve their goals [d’embauche]. We’re told there would be 310 hires this year for around 160 to 200 departures. So net we should end up at 170, but so far that’s not happening.
Stressing that the figures he has presented are not disputed by either the SPVM or the city, the President of the Fraternité is concerned about this decrease in police personnel, which, on the contrary, is likely to increase in the city given the efforts announced by the town hall and the government of Quebec.
Overwhelmed workforce
The tougher working conditions in Montreal means fewer recruits are being enticed to work at the SPVM as demand is strong in the suburbs and the national police force.
Photo: Radio Canada / Jean-Claude Taliana
I would like to remind you that on August 28th the Quebec government announced 450 additional police officers over five years in Montreal for a sum of 250 million, explained Yves Francoeur, noting a deterioration in the working conditions of the police. This, he says, is fueling the problem by causing more churn.
The end of the holiday season put the police in Montreal under particular strain, he emphasizes.
Our officers on the road are young police officers, often with small families. It is agreed that they must have either Christmas or New Year off, but absolutely must have one of the two public holidays.
This year we have a lot of people who have worked on both public holidays and, moreover, even people who have only worked on one of the two public holidays have very often done so in compulsory overtime, regrets Mr Francoeur.
Isabelle Richer welcomes André Durocher, retired SPVM inspector
Over the past three years, the City of Montreal has had to pay tens of millions for leave not taken by the police. Holidays that could not be granted due to a lack of staff, claims Mr Francoeur.
This increased pressure on officers and the resulting dissatisfaction raise concerns about the physical and mental health of police officers.
“Between 2017 and 2021 we went from 3,700 to 5,200 consultations for the aid program. »
— A quote from Yves Francoeur, President of the Montreal Police Fraternity
Because of the nature of their work, our people have to make split-second decisions that will have a very big impact, reminds the President of the Brotherhood. We want our people to be in possession of all their resources.
Remember that five days before the November 2021 election, Mayor Valérie Plante reiterated her pledge to hire 250 police officers by December 31, 2022.
Fewer and fewer police officers want to work in Montreal
SPVM police officers have to intervene every day under difficult conditions.
Photo: Radio Canada / Ivanoh Demers
Once a popular choice for future police officers, the SPVM is now struggling to renew its workforce in the face of competition from other police forces and less favorable working conditions.
People are less interested in coming to Montreal as the danger is greater. I have three cops who have been shot in the last two years. […] These are not serious or fatal injuries, but gunshot wounds, explains Yves Francoeur.
The traffic, parking and housing cost problems in Montreal would also be thrown into the balance. Word gets around, it’s complicated to get to Montreal.
The salary of new police officers at the SPVM would also be problematic.
“The starting salary is $42,500. They will try to afford accommodation on the island of Montreal with a starting salary of $42,500. »
— A quote from Yves Francoeur, President of the Montreal Police Fraternity
The city hall’s lack of support for its police officers and mandatory overtime are also cited by the union leader to explain the reluctance of new recruits to join the SPVM. Many SPVM police officers would also look elsewhere in search of better working conditions.
We currently have more than a hundred police officers in our ranks who are recruited by the Sûreté du Québec or the RCMP.
Although Quebec has created a special cohort of agents at the National Police Academy to fill out the SPVM’s ranks, several candidates change their minds once their training is complete.
Measures have been taken to make them pass faster but unfortunately we see many people sign up to come to Montreal but have no contractual obligation to stay in Montreal. […] People even have promises of work in the suburbs or in the Sûreté du Québec a few days before they arrive in Montreal.
“This means that we are told, for example, that on January 15 or February 15 we will have a contingent of 30 new police officers who will end up being 20, 22, sometimes 18 years old. This is the reality we live. »
— A quote from Yves Francoeur, President of the Montreal Police Fraternity
Solutions?
Police officers in training at the National Police School of Quebec during a public demonstration
Photo: Radio Canada / Sebastien St-Onge
Although the problem of hiring and retaining new Montreal officers is complex in the national context of labor shortages, the Police Officers Fraternity offers possible solutions, beginning with an increase in the salary when hiring new agents, which is currently $42,500 per year.
Another idea, proposed by the city’s police department but not embraced, according to Mr. Francoeur, is to pay junior police officers to do the four-month internship at the National School of Police — which costs about $9,000 — in exchange for signing a contract in which the recruit agrees to work and stay with the SPVM for a period of two or three years.
In the meantime, the President of the Fraternité asks the SPVM and the city to show goodwill and work towards a quick solution to the problem.
An absolute emergency for the director of the SPVM
The personnel issue is an absolute emergency for me. “And I intend to make every effort to encourage recruitment and retention of resources within our organization,” the SPVM’s new director, Fady Dagher, replied via email late Friday afternoon.
To do this, he wants to meet future police officers and talk to them transparently about the challenges of the profession in Montreal.
“I would like to welcome candidates who make an informed decision and are willing to meet these challenges like a moral contract with us. »
— A quote from Fady Dagher, director of the SPVM
Cohorts of police officers in training at the National Police School of Quebec are assigned to the SPVM, he added.
Our responsibility as an organization is to equip and support them to fulfill their mission and to support them in fulfilling their role. They have my support, that of the organization and we also count on that of the population.