Keeping with its international character, the ICPC was invited on a mission in Dubai to participate in the World Police Summit 2023, from March 7 to 9, organized by the Dubaï police. Other meetings were concluded throughout the week, marked by knowledge sharing from different crime-related networks worldwide.
On March 7, ICPC Director General, Ann Champoux, offered a presentation to nearly 200 people about the work the organization has done over its nearly 30-year existence. During her conference, “Challenges facing the crime detection and prevention systems: a road map for the future”, the Director General also presented the positive experience of the Urban Safety Laboratory and its successful implementation within the City of Montreal. The perspective of working in collaboration with police services, under this governance model, to provide accurate data analysis for the aim of preventing crime in a city, generated the interest of the audience.
On Wednesday, March 8, a meeting with the Canadian Consul in Dubai was held at the Canadian Consulate offices. Ann Champoux and Jean-Philippe Linteau explored the possibilities of development and collaboration in crime prevention, analyzing the situation in the region and possible local partnerships.
On March 9 morning, Ms. Champoux met with Major Ahmed al Marri and Major Mohamed Al Hammade from Dubai Police’s Crime Prevention Department. They discussed the various crime issues in both countries, mainly related to cyber violence and ICPC’s expertise in security in mobility. Thank you to the Dubai Police for your interest in our work and for possible partnerships between our institutions.
On March 14, the ICPC had the opportunity to participate in a day of workshops on gun violence prevention, organized by the Quebec Ministry of Public Safety. The purpose of the workshops was to discuss the main initiatives carried out under the 2019-2023 Action Plan, that is part of the Contribution Agreement of the Gun and Gang Violence Action Fund. We are grateful to the Ministry for offering us this opportunity to present our activities and results with regard to our Montreal Urban Safety Laboratory. This day was an occasion for the ICPC to share its knowledge and expertise in urban safety, and to discuss with other stakeholders involved in the fight against gun violence.
In March 2023, the ICPC welcomed a new employee to the team: Maxime Raulet.
Maxime, analyst and project officer, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Lorraine in France and the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Romania. His field of interest was the analysis of territorial decision-making processes in developing countries. He then completed a Master’s degree in Geography at the Université du Québec à Montréal, producing his dissertation on internationalized governance in Haiti and the inherent questions raised by the community-based approach developed by humanitarian stakeholders in the planning of the Haitian territory. Thus, the search for improved urban resilience through the application of more inclusive participatory processes and consultations is central to the issues that interest him.
On February 21st, 2023, the ICPC met with the Association of Police Directors of Quebec (ADPQ) to present its ongoing projects and services. The meeting provided an opportunity to explore possibilities for collaboration in order to expand the range of services offered and support municipalities in Quebec, as well as to work with a greater number of police services in the province’s urban centers. The meeting strengthened the relationship between the ICPC and the ADPQ, and opened up new avenues for collaboration to better meet the security needs of the population.
On Wednesday, February 15, about a hundred people participated of the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (RÉSAL), of which the ICPC is a coordinating member. The colloquium, which took place at the Centre St-Pierre, in Montreal, focused on the prevention of cyber-violence. The day was eventful for participants and panelists, with a series of meetings, discussions, workshops and “braindates”.
The event began with opening remarks by Roselyne Mavungu, Director General of the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV), who stressed the importance of organizations and institutions working together to prevent cyber-violence among youth. Then, Pier Alexandre Lemaire, Urban Safewty Advisor for the City of Montreal’s Diversity and Social Inclusion Department, followed highlighting RÉSAL’s activities. He also emphasized the importance of networking, as well as the importance of being able to meet in person, after three years of online activities.
Khaoula El Kahlil, Research Advisor at the CPRLV, moderated the first panel of the day, on ”Crossed views on cyber-violence”, with experts from various fields. Detective Sergeant, Maya Alieh, of the Montreal Police Department (SPVM) gave a presentation on key considerationsto keep in mind regarding cyber investigations and how to intervene when her team is faced with incidents of cyber violence on social networks. Stéphane Villeneuve, professor and director of the program in digital integration in the school environment at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), presented research on cyberbullying in the school environment as well as a means to better understand and prevent these situations, i.e. a training program offered to Quebec teachers. Dominique Gagné and Dave Poitras, scientific advisors from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), concluded the panel with a presentation on research and solutions to prevent cyber-violence in relationships.
Panelists and participants then divided into different groups to discuss current issues around to cyber-violence prevention. These discussions were organized by the event’s partner, Braindate, allowing participants to share their experiences with each other.
The afternoon was divided into four workshops: The first workshop, facilitated by Jeanne Plisson, Community Support Coordinator, and Sarah Grenier, Community Support Advisor, at the CPRLV, addressed ”online hate speech”. In this workshop, participants learned about definitions of hate speech, the different possible forms that hate can take and the prevailing motives for it to occur. They also presented different tools used to prevent and respond to hate speech incidents, primarily in schools.
The second workshop offered, led by Akim Laniel-Lanani, co-founder of the Clinique de cyber-criminologie at the School of Criminology at the Université de Montréal (UdeM), focused on “cyber-hygiene”. Akim presented an overview of the use of social networks by youth before discussing useful tools and resources available to promotehealthy online habits.
UdeM criminology professor Isabelle Ouellet-Morin leda third workshop that provided participants with an opportunity to learn more about the research that led to the creation of the “+Fort” mobile application. This app, a collaboration of several Quebec researchers created by the Axel Centre, aims to help youth and school professionals combat and overcome harassment and cyberstalking.
The fourth workshop of the day, “Getting Connected to Equality”, was led by Léna Gauthier-Paquette, support officer for the sexuality education program of L’Anonyme. The workshop focused on a project that aims to equip youth aged 12 to 25 to develop egalitarian, safe and consensual relationships by initiating a reflection on the sharing of real and virtual public space between genders. This activity allowed participants to understand the manifestations of stereotypes, power dynamics and sexism online through an overview based on the organization’s research. The day concluded with exchanges between participants and closing remarks from the CPRLV.
Please note that proceedings of the conference will soon be published online.
It is with great pride thatour General Director, Ann Champoux, has accepted the invitation to participate in the World Police Summit 2023 in Dubaï, which will take place from March 7 to 9. We are grateful for this opportunity to speak about ICPC’s expertise in crime prevention. On March 7, she will take part in a discussion on “Challenges Facing Crime Detection and Prevention Systems: A Roadmap for the Future”.
The 2nd edition of the World Police Summit, organized by the Dubai Police, offers a high-level platform to discuss the pressing priorities facing police forces and law enforcement agencies consideringevolving forms of criminal activity, the increasing availability and accessibility of sophisticated technologies, and shifting criminal motivations.
As part of the development of the community of practice of the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (RÉSAL), of which the ICPC is a member and coordinator, two cycles of theme-based activities were held in the fall of 2022.
The RÉSAL community of practice includes practitioners, community organizations and institutions that work with youth in Montreal.
Two series of training sessions were held and reached nearly 70 participants.
Street harassment and ordinary violence prevention, conducted by Audrey Simard from the Centre d’éducation et d’action des femmes and Marie-Ève Desroches from the Table des groupes de femmes de Montréal.
The training and clinical supervision activities of this theme series helped define street harassment, its concrete manifestations, and its impacts, particularly on young cisgender and trans women. The presenters provided concrete tools and strategies for dealing with this violence as victims, active witnesses, or recipients of disclosure. On the other hand, they led the participants to reflect on the ways in which community organizations and institutions such as the City of Montreal, the Société de transport de Montréal or schools can play a proactive role in the fight against street harassment and support victims.
Some of the highlights:
Street harassment includes physical, sexual, verbal, and psychological violence. It is important not to rank acts of street harassment in order of importance, as their impact depends on the experiences and traumas of the victims.
Street harassment isn’t more frequent at night than during the day, on the contrary, it mostly occurs during rush hour. Therefore, there is a difference between the perception of safety and actual safety.
Violence prevention at school, conducted by Éric Morissette professor from the University of Montreal.
Some of the highlights:
Violence in schools is common. According to studies, it is estimated that more than one-third of Quebec students experience at least one incident of verbal or physical violence at school or on the way to school.
In order to prevent violence, it is essential to conceive intervention in the school environment within an integrative model targeting various levels of intervention and the entire school environment.
In January 2023, the ICPC welcomed a new employee to the team: Mateo Minillo.
Mateo is a triple master’s student in international political communication and democratic risks at the Université de Sherbrooke (Canada), UCLouvain (Belgium) and Sciences Po Aix (France). After completing a bachelor’s degree in public relations, he worked for five years at IBM as a professional development analyst in human resources. In 2018, he worked on an election campaign in Brazil, following two of his passions: politics and communication. Since returning to school in 2021, he has been studying different types of violent extremism around the world and joined the ICPC in January 2023 for his master’s degree internship.
On December 13, ICPC participated in the fall 2022 coordination meeting of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme (NCPJ) Network as part of its role in the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
The members of the network presented their recent and ongoing activities, reviewed the “Kyoto Declaration on Advancing Crime Prevention, Criminal Justice and the Rule of Law” and to discuss the presence of the PNI at the 32nd session of the CCPCJ to be held in 2023.
Gun violence is on the rise in the Montreal metropolitan area, but also throughout Quebec (Larin 2022), and cold weapon violence is still common. However, several tragic events involving firearms have compelled the Quebec government to invest in the fight against this type of violence.
This review of literature and practice is part of these efforts to better understand the phenomenon of armed violence. It also seeks to share knowledge and experiences from measures put in place around the world to curb violence. However, armed violence is a complex phenomenon that involves more than one issue. Therefore, it is important to adopt the appropriate prevention strategies depending on the context in which armed violence is addressed in order to intervene in a comprehensive and targeted manner.
This report presents four issues that may result in weapon-related acts:
Suicide and self-inflicted violence;
Armed violence among delinquent or criminalized youth groups;
Intimate partner violence;
Incidents related to violent extremism.
This report provides insight and understanding of crime data collected under the Quebec Department of Public Safety's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR 2.2) rules from 2015 to 2020.
