Almost two-thirds of Montrealers feel city is less safe than 5 years ago: survey

A new survey shows that nearly two out of three people in Montreal feel security is worse that it was five years ago in the city.

The Leger-FPPM survey commissioned by the Montreal police brotherhood (FPPM) asked around 1,500 Montrealers how safe they feel in Montreal.

Though in general, 16 per cent of those surveyed said they felt very secure and 59 per cent felt they were secure enough, 65 per cent said they felt less secure than they did five years ago.

In addition, 67 per cent said there were areas of the city they felt unsafe. The most common areas mentioned were in Montreal North (33 per cent), downtown (21 per cent) and in the city's metro stations (19 per cent).

More than half of those asked (54 per cent) said there aren't enough police officers on the streets, and 62 per cent said officers weren't visible enough.

Francoeur said one of the reasons officers cannot be present for patrols as much as they would like is because they are responding to 911 calls, and that the response time has increased by around a minute for priority 1 and 2 calls where someone's life or security is in danger.

"It really upset us," he said.

The SPVM annual report showed the average response time for 911 calls rose from five minutes and 48 seconds in 2018 to six minutes and 23 seconds in 2023.

The Montreal police (SPVM) said later on Monday that the force ahieved a net increase of 91 officers in 2023 thanks to the hiring of 312 officers and bringing 50 more out of retirement as reservists.

Metros less safe

When it comes to the city's metro stations, again the majority of people felt very secure (14 per cent) or secure enough (60 per cent), but 59 per cent of those asked said the situation was worse than it was five years ago and almost two thirds felt there aren't enough officers in the metro (65 per cent) and 67 per cent feel their presence is not felt enough.

Half of the respondents said police do not have the resources to ensure security in the metro.

“We've said it several times, there is a serious lack of police officers in Montreal," said FPPM president Yves Francoeur. "It's harder to attract young people, and resignations are more and more frequent. The difficult social context, lack of resources and support from the authorities, as evidenced by the end of funding for mixed teams, are all factors that demobilize police officers."

Homeless population and street gangs

When it comes to the principal reasons for insecurity in the city, two issues remain at the top: homelessness (19 per cent) and street gangs (15 per cent).

A vast majority (87 per cent) feel that Quebec and municipal authorities must do a better job at helping homeless populations. Eighty-three per cent felt Quebec needs to better aid Montreal financially.

When asked if Montreal was doing enough to ensure the Montreal police (SPVM) can keep the city secure, 32 per cent agreed.

"These are very worrying findings. With the upsurge in violence that has plagued over the past few weeks, our elected officials must see this as a call to action," said Francoeur. "Montreal's police forces need more resources on the ground to act upstream and ensure public safety." 

• Listen on CJAD 800 Radio: Montreal police chief reacts to poll showing an increase in crime in the city