Major crime hike on Montreal metro concerns special constables

The Montreal metro's special constables are warning of a major hike in crime on the city's underground public transport system.

With summer festivals and tourism spiking, they feel it's only likely to get worse.

The union representing the special constables said there are around 200 calls for help every day and that there were around 30,000 calls in the first six months of 2024.

In 2023, there were 47,000 total.

Most of the calls, they said, are for assaults, fights and theft.

In April, two random attacks on the same night at the same station led to an increase in security, including more patrols and the closure of an Atwater station entrance.

STM union vice president Kevin Grenier is worried about what the festival season will bring.

"We have these big festivals where a lot of people are using the metro," he said. "It creates an opportunity for different crimes, especially theft."

As a response, the STM points to the 14 security ambassadors it has already hired, with another dozen coming in July.

The agency also added 16 more special constables at the end of 2023.

"Since the pandemic we've seen a rise in the number of vulnerable people and cases of incivility caused primarily by intoxication, mental health and the housing crisis," the STM said. "Despite a difficult financial context, security is one of the only areas we've increased spending every year."

Grenier said, however, that despite the STM saying it knows the cause, there aren't many solutions.

"We really need concrete actions from the government because everyone agrees there is a problem, but no one has done anything," he said.

With 700,000 trips taken every day, he said constables are already struggling to keep up.