Fewer tickets issued for illegal gatherings

Police say the rate of fines for violating social-distancing requirements has decreased in the last week.

“People are getting the message,” said Montreal police inspector André Durocher. “We handed out fewer tickets last week than the week before.”

Earlier this month, police forces were issued the power to hand out tickets to people who violate public health orders either by gathering in groups, or by staying less than six feet away from people they do not reside with.

Since then, police have been issuing regular updates about the number of tickets they handed out.

In Montreal, a total of 1,841 were handed out as of Monday, an increase of 396 from a week earlier.

The Sûreté du Québec also unveiled its statistics on Monday, with a total of 1,514 infractions in the previous seven days, an increase of 358 from the previous week. The SQ also handed out fewer tickets last week than the week before.

“The weather is nicer and more people are going out, so to have fewer infractions is a very good sign that people are understanding the importance of following the directives,” Durocher said.

Police in Laval issued just 59 tickets in the last week, down significantly from 108 the previous week. Its overall total is 286.

In Quebec City, 31 tickets were issued last week, compared with 37 the week before, with a total of 129 since the beginning of the outbreak.

Longueuil police have handed out just 68 infractions since the crisis began.