Montreal mayor nominates first female police chief in city's history

The first female mayor in Montreal's history is nominating the city's soon-to-be first female interim head of its police force.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante is supporting Sophie Roy to become the next interim police chief in the city.

Plante forwarded her recommendation to the Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday.

Roy last served as assistant director of criminal investigation after a 34-year career with the department.

Once her appointment gets the green light from Quebec, she will become the first woman to head the SPVM.

Outgoing chief Sylvain Caron announced that he will retire in March.

In the SPVM's history, it is rare that an interim chief becomes the permanent top cop.

Retired inspector Andre Durocher said that may hamper Roy's ability to tackle major concerns in the city such as gun violence.

"It's very hard for an interim chief to proceed to major revamping or anything because out of respect for the next chief, you don't want to stir things up too much," said Durocher. "Right now in Montreal there are a lot of concerns regarding racial profiling, there are concerns regarding the numerous shootings and violence, so there's a lot of challenges out there."

Durocher said, however, that if anyone can work on these and other issues, it's Roy.

"She's got great inside knowledge of the SPVM," said Durocher. 

-- With reporting from CTV Montreal's Andrew Brennan.