Sex assaults spotlighted in annual police report

Complaints jumped 22.9 per cent in 2017 in wake of #MeToo movement

Even though the Montreal police department has beefed up its sexual assault unit, more efforts are needed to ensure such crimes are handled in a timely manner, the executive committee member responsible for public security said Tuesday.

“Six investigators have been added since last year. Is this enough? I would like to discuss this with the current director of the SPVM,” Nathalie Goulet said after the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (SPVM) presented its annual report to the city ’s public safety committee.

Goulet said that while the police force is to be commended for its response to a spike in reports of sexual assaults last fall in the wake of the #MeToo movement, improvements are still needed.

“I think that, for example, wait times are too long, unfortunately, to meet an investigator. It takes an enormous amount of courage for victims to come forward, so being forced to wait is often extremely painful,” she said. “So we want to see an improvement on this issue, and I will follow the dossier closely in the coming weeks and months.”

The SPVM’s report for 2017 highlighted the force’s response to a rise in complaints of sexual assaults, prompted by allegations against American film producer Harvey Weinstein and Quebec entertainment figures Éric Salvail and Gilbert Rozon.

In October, Montreal police set up a hotline for reporting sexual assaults that received more than 460 calls between Oct. 19 and Nov. 6. In addition, 26 complaints of sexual assault were filed at local police stations.

Files were opened on 98 of the sexual assault complaints and 34 were reported to other police departments.

Police closed down the hotline after the frequency of calls dropped in November, but continue to urge anyone who has been a victim of a sexual assault to call 911 or visit a local police station.

André Durocher, a police inspector responsible for communications, said in an interview after the public security committee meeting that in October, six investigators were added to the 33 assigned to the sexual assault unit for a few weeks.

They then returned to their former jobs, but in April eight investigators were added, he said.

Durocher noted that the number of detectives in a given unit can be somewhat fluid, depending on where they are most urgently needed and how many people are on vacation.

Complaints of sexual assault rose by 22.9 per cent in 2017, with 1,828 complaints, compared with 1,487 in 2016. Charges were laid against 346 people (including 58 minors), the SPVM reported.

“We’ve seen a plateau (in sexual assault complaints since last fall), but that’s absolutely normal,” Durocher said.

“If tomorrow there’s another high-profile case, it’s likely that (complaints will rise again.) That’s only normal because sometimes all it takes is this little spark” for people to come forward, he said.

Also of note in the annual report:

FENTANYL

Lethal overdoses increased in 2017, including the deaths of Gilles and Yves Faucher, two brothers from the Lac-Mégantic area who died in a Montreal parking lot of a drug overdose, probably made fatal by fentanyl.

Montreal police are centralizing information on fentanyl overdoses, working with public health officials to prevent deaths and cracking down on traffickers of heroin, one of the drugs often contaminated by fentanyl.

“We’re sending a strong message that we’re not going to wait until the situation gets out of control,” Durocher said.

“We’re hoping that by the media publicity around it, users will be aware and be careful before they inject drugs,” he added.

It takes an enormous amount of courage for victims to come forward, so being forced to wait is often extremely painful.

CRIME

Violent crimes like homicide (24), assault (10,421) and armed robbery (2,511) rose by 2.9 per cent in 2017.

PROTECTING PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS

Fifteen pedestrians were killed and 78 were seriously injured in traffic accidents in 2017. More than half of pedestrian victims are 55 or older.

“Distraction is a veritable plague,” Durocher said, pointing to drivers who text and pedestrians who wear earphones or stare at their phones.

Montreal police launched a public awareness campaign to reduce pedestrian accidents with the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) as well as a program that allows cyclists and pedestrians to avoid fines for traffic offences by attending information sessions on road safety.

Four cyclists were killed in Montreal in 2017 — twice as many as the previous year — and 32 were seriously injured.