Category: Latest News

Training session on online hate prevention offered by the RÉSAL

As part of the development of the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL)’s community of practice, an organization of which the ICPC is a member and the coordinator, a third training session of a series of activities planned this fall was held on November 4th. It focused on online hate prevention and aimed to familiarize the participants with the concepts of radicalization leading to violence and of hate-motivated acts. It also addressed various extremist expressions on social media, presented the existing initiatives and tools in the fight against online hate, and shared inspiring attitudes to face online hate.

The activity was hosted by Anne-Sophie Bedziri and Jeanne Plisson, advisors at the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV) on issues and challenges related to radicalization leading to violence.

Among the highlights of the workshop, there were:

  • The importance of properly deconstructing the vocabulary (radicalization, extremism, terrorism) to use it well. Radicalization itself can lead to social progress and positive actions and doesn’t necessarily imply violence.
  • The many forms that hate-motivated acts can take: hate-motivated incidents, hate speech, and hate crimes. While the latter falls under the jurisdiction of the law, it is still difficult to fight hate-motivated incidents and hate speech under current legislative measures.
  • Multiple resources can be combined to limit radicalization leading to violence and hate-motivated acts online. Expressing interest in the youth involved in these phenomena, encouraging doubt, and reinforcing protective factors, are important considerations for field workers.

More information about other training sessions offered:

Violence prevention in street gangs

Sexual violence prevention

Street work and youth intervention

These training sessions were carried out with the financial support of the City of Montreal.

New employee joins the ICPC team

In early November, we welcomed a new employee to the ICPC: Rose Germain.

Rose, Research Assistant Intern, is in her last year of a bachelor’s degree in psychology (Laval University) and has experience working with youth. Indeed, she has worked for Entraide Jeunesse Québec as a facilitator of a support group for teenage volunteers with anxiety disorders.

She will support the team in its role in the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (RÉSAL). Welcome!

Training session on sexual violence prevention offered by the RÉSAL

As part of the development of the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL)’s community of practice, of which ICPC is a member and the coordinator, a second training session in a series of activities planned this fall, was held on October 28. It focused on the prevention of sexual violence and aimed to explore the importance of language and of certain concepts in sexual violence prevention and review legal aspects and helpful attitudes for field workers.

The activity was hosted by Katherine Lapierre, project manager for the sex education programme and counselor for L’Anonyme, a RÉSAL member that works to promote safe behaviour and egalitarian relationships among youth.

Among the highlights of the workshop, there were:

  • The importance of inclusive language in prevention and interventions among youth to create a safer environment and to limit stigmatization.
  • The many shapes and forms in which violence can appear in day-to-day life without necessarily being recognized as such by the victims or by the perpetrators (sexual coercion, harassment, stealthing, etc.).
  • Despite a common misconception, around 2% of complaints around sexual assault are false accusations. This fact contrasts with a common vision that tends to easily question the account of victims.
  • Lastly, although a number of tools exist to accompany youth on this topic, how workers react to the disclosure of violence (listening, interest, trust) remains key for the following procedure with victims.

More information about other training sessions offered:

Violence prevention in street gangs

Online hate prevention

Street work and youth intervention

These training sessions were carried out with the financial support of the City of Montreal.

The ICPC publishes its 2020 Annual Report

The ICPC published its 2020 Annual Report which is divided into three sections: the ICPC as a knowledge centre, as centre for exchange and expertise, and as a centre for cooperation.

First, the report presents the ICPC’s publications in 2020, including two thematic reports, one on victims of sex trafficking in the Americas and the other on hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The Annual Report then details the events that were organized by the ICPC and its partners, as well as the ICPC’s participation in outside events and in activities organized by the organization’s members and partners. Last, the report’s final section presents the ICPC’s technical assistance projects and support to stakeholders, and introduces for the first time, the Urban Safety Laboratory (USLab) and its many projects. The report concludes with an update on the organization’s governance.

Download the report

The ICPC connects with its network in France and Belgium

This month, during her visit to Europe, the ICPC’s Director General met with many members, partners, and new collaborators to discuss cooperation opportunities for crime prevention.

The Association des maires de France et des présidents d’intercommunalité

On Monday October 18th, in Paris, the ICPC met with Corinne de la Mettrie, Deputy Director of the Association des maires de France et des présidents d’intercommunalité (AMF), Pauline Tivelet, Project manager and Head of European and International Affairs of the AMF, Nathalie Genest, Political Affairs and Cooperation Attaché of the Délégation générale du Québec à Paris (General Delegation of Quebec in Paris, DGQP), and Nicolas Pasquier, Political Affairs and Cooperation Intern of the DGQP. This meeting was an opportunity to present the ICPC, its ongoing projects, its key initiatives, especially the Urban Safety Laboratory, and to consider future collaboration.

The Délégation générale de Québec à Paris

On Tuesday, October 19th, in Paris, the ICPC met with Michèle Boisvert, General Delegate of Quebec in Paris, to exchange on how to support Quebec-France internationalization projects in crime prevention.

Efus Conference “Security, Democracy and Cities”

The ICPC attended the seventh international conference organized by the European Forum on Urban Security (Efus), an ICPC member, in Nice. The conference took place from October 20th to 22nd and included many workshops on the role and involvement of citizens, mayors, cities, and local authorities in urban safety that the ICPC attended. The ICPC also took the opportunity to reconnect with several international partners and discuss future collaboration. The ICPC also attended an award ceremony at which the Observatoire international de la délinquance dans les transports (International Observatory of Crime on Transport), an ICPC member, gave out the PrixPrev, a prize for local stakeholders who developed inspiring prevention practices. This year’s theme was “Mobility and safety”.

The Délégation générale du Québec à Bruxelles

On Monday, October 25th, in Brussels, the ICPC and Stéphanie Frassen, Bilateral Affairs and Cooperation Attaché of the Délégation générale du Québec à Bruxelles (General Delegation of Quebec in Brussels, DGQB), discussed the ICPC’s ongoing activities and upcoming collaborations.

Bruxelles Prévention & Sécurité

Also on October 25th, the ICPC met with Sophie Lavaux, Director General of Bruxelles Prévention et Sécurité (Brussels Prevention and Safety, BPS), an ICPC member, Christine Rouffin, Observatory Director at BPS, and Yves Bastaerts, Deputy Director of BPS.

Belgian Forum for Urban Security

On Tuesday, October 26th, in Brussels, the ICPC met with Laetitia Nolet, Coordinator of the Belgian Forum for Urban Security, about prospective collaborations in crime prevention and safety.

The International Association of Public Transport

Also on October 26th, the ICPC met with Karine Sbirrazzuoli, Deputy Director of the International Association of Public Transport (UITP) to discuss crime prevention and safety on transport among other things.

The ICPC Annual General Meeting of Members

The ICPC held its Annual General Meeting of Members on October 21st, 2021, in Nice, during the European Forum for Urban Security (Efus)’s conference “Security, Democracy and Cities”. All members were invited to take part in person or online. The Director General presented the highlights of the ICPC’s last two years, the new reports published, news of its network, its participation in international online events, and the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting was also a chance to present the organization’s plan of action in accordance with the strategic orientations of the coming years.

The assembly also reviewed the ICPC’s financial and annual statements for 2019 and 2020 and elected new members of the Board of Directors. To see the current Board of Directors: https://cipc-icpc.org/en/board-of-directors/.

Launch of the RÉSAL’s community of practice

The ICPC had the pleasure of organizing the launch of a series of workshops and activities offered by the Réseau d’échange et de soutien aux actions locales (Network for exchange and local action support, RÉSAL) as part of the development of its community of practice. Supported by the city of Montreal, this process aims to provide a bigger space for the sharing knowledge and experience around different forms of violence committed and suffered by youth aged 12 to 25. It is specially targeted at community workers in the North-East of the island of Montreal to equip them to deal with various problems met in their daily activities.

For the first theme of the fall on violence prevention in street gangs, the local stakeholders were able to attend a day-long workshop given by René-André Brisebois, instructor and lecturer at the University of Montreal for the last decade, and Professional Coordinator of the Institut universitaire jeunes en difficulté (IUJD)’s Center of Expertise.

Aiming to deconstruct common prejudices around street gangs and criminalized youth networks, the workshop highlighted some key aspects:

  • The ethnicized dimension of the term “street gang” and the complex reality of this phenomenon;
  • The social and personal characteristics pf gang members, as well as the affiliation and disaffiliation trajectories of youth within these groups;
  • The most effective approaches, preventive actions, and interventions for preventing the joining of gangs and for reducing related crimes.

Overall, around 15 participants were present at the workshop given at the BAnQ Grande bibliothèque and all sanitary recommendations were followed. This first workshop will be followed by clinical supervision activities this fall to delve deeper into the issues raised from the fieldworkers’ experience.

More information about other training sessions offered:

Sexual violence prevention

Online hate prevention

Street work and youth intervention

These training sessions were carried out with the financial support of the City of Montreal.

The ICPC takes part in a CMNCP conference on urban safety

On Tuesday, October 5th, the ICPC was on a panel as part of the virtual conference: “Community Safety in the Midst of a Global Pandemic: Who Are We Leaving Behind?” organized by the Canadian Municipal Network on Crime Prevention (CMNCP), an ICPC partner, that took place from October 4th to 6th, 2021, gathering nearly 80 participants.

The session in which the ICPC took part was called “Eradicating Violence: Essentials That Do Not Leave People Behind” and discussed community safety and crime prevention, as well as an evidence-based and inclusive approach to violence prevention. Questions discussed included:

  • What are the evidence-based solutions that should be more used in Canada?
  • How to implement these solutions?
  • What can we learn from cities that succeeded in making changes necessary to succeed?
  • Can we learn from cities like London, UK, that applied a public health model to violence prevention?

The ICPC would like to thank the CMNCP for the invitation.

The ICPC participates in an SPVM workshop on police intervention policy

On Tuesday September 28th, the ICPC took part in a workshop lead by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (Montreal police department, SPVM) on police intervention policy. Adopted in July 2020, the Politique sur les interpellations policières marks an important cultural turning point and provides a framework for the organization’s intervention practices. The SPVM is the first police force in Quebec to implement such a policy.

Among the issues discussed at the workshop, a focus was put on the following themes:

  • The difference between social interactions, interventions, police stops, custody for questioning, and arrests;
  • Legal issues related to various police practices;
  • The application context for and the issues related to the newly implemented intervention form.

This workshop aimed to demystify police intervention practices and to educate the public on the practical implications of the new policy in the SPVM. We thank the SPVM and the Borough of Saint-Léonard for inviting us to take part in this workshop and to exchange with local actors.