Tag: gun violence

ICPC collaboration in the PREVARM living lab project

The International Centre for the Prevention of Crime (ICPC) is pleased to announce its collaboration with Denis Lafortune, Professor of the School of Criminology at the Université of Montréal, and his team of researchers for the project “PRÉVARM: a living lab dedicated to the prevention of armed violence in the metropolitan area”. This innovative project aims to bring together key stakeholders such as the scientific community, organizations, community workers and people living in the Northeast of Montreal to experiment and develop innovative practices or approaches to prevent gun violence and maintain a safe environment for all.

The PREVARM Living Lab project responds to a crucial need for gun violence prevention in the Montreal metropolitan area. ICPC is pleased to participate in this ambitious project and to work with partners committed to creating a safer future for the Montreal community.

ICPC participates in a day of workshops organized by the Quebec Ministry of Public Safety

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 goal 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 providing us with this opportunity to present our activities and results in relation to our Montreal Urban Safety Laboratory. This event allowed the ICPC to share its knowledge and expertise in urban safety, and to discuss with other stakeholders involved in the fight against gun violence.

ICPC has published a review of the literature and practices for the prevention of armed violence

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.  

Read the report here (in French)

Presentation of two reports to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the City of Montreal has experienced a sharp increase in certain firearm-related crimes, most of which involve young people. This issue, which must be addressed through a multi-sectoral approach and which must benefit from a concerted vision, is of particular concern to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). The SPVM, therefore, contacted the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime in order to develop its integrated plan to combat gun violence and improve its practices.

On October 27th, ICPC was invited to present highlights of two recently published reports addressing different issues related to gun violence, the first one focusing on the glorification of firearms on social media and the second one on the prevention of gun violence.

This meeting was an opportunity for the team to share best practices from the literature, but also to exchange with 14 members of the SPVM’s internal committee of experts on the issue of the rise of gun-related violence in Montreal, on the initiatives to be implemented at the community level as well as on social media in order to prevent such violence.  

Thank you to the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal for the invitation.

The ICPC took part in the second day of the Forum on the fight against gun violence

On March 31, 2022, the ICPC was pleased to attend the second day of the Forum montréalais pour la lutte contre la violence armée : s’unir pour la jeunesse (Montreal Forum on Combating Gun Violence: Uniting for Youth), organized by the SPVM and the City of Montreal. The objectives of this forum were to:

  1. Promote communication between institutional and community partners working with Montreal youth;
  2. Identify levers to encourage collaboration and find concrete solutions, taking into account the mission and expertise of each partner;
  3. Develop a concerted Montreal model that mobilizes all stakeholders.

During the day, strategic partners presented themselves in order to establish common commitments to counter the phenomenon of gun violence. The influence of social media and the need to share information were also discussed during the event.

“The fight against gun violence requires a global response”, emphasized the SPVM. ” Therefore, we must all contribute, each in our own way, according to our respective roles, missions, and expertise. We all have a responsibility to make commitments that will bring about change for Montreal’s youth.”

For more information: https://sync-stream.tv/spvm_forum/

The ICPC took part in a Forum on the fight against gun violence

On February 24, 2022, the ICPC was pleased to attend the Forum montréalais pour la lutte contre la violence armée : s’unir pour la jeunesse (Montreal Forum on Gun Violence: Uniting for Youth), organized by the SPVM and the City of Montreal. The objectives of this forum were to:   

  1. Promote communication between institutional and community partners working with Montreal youth;
  2. Identify levers for collaboration and find concrete solutions, taking into account the mission and expertise of each partner; 
  3. Develop a concerted Montreal model that mobilizes all stakeholders. 

The morning was devoted to various presentations related to the theme, including a status report on gun violence in the territory, a presentation of the work of the Comité stratégique de partenaires pour lutter contre la violence, a presentation of the results of Montréal sécuritaire pour les jeunes (Montreal Safe for Youth) meeting, and a presentation of best practices in gun violence prevention.   

The afternoon was devoted to sub-group work in order to identify avenues for action, as concerted action is a necessity on these issues.   

The forum will continue on 31 March 2022 with a working day to agree on common commitments to the priority actions identified. 

A new ICPC intern

In January 2022, the ICPC welcomed a new employee to the team: Eva Croci.

Eva, Research Assistant Intern, is currently doing her master’s in international public policy at Sherbrooke University. As part of her studies, she is doing a supervised project on Western far-right terrorism with the UNESCO Chair in Prevention of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism, an ICPC partner. She gained experience as a research assistant at Sherbrooke University where she worked on issues related to terrorism and cybercrime. As part of her internship, she will work especially on projects with a focus on the prevention of the glorification of firearms on social media.

The ICPC invited to an SPVM meeting in Saint-Michel

On November 30th, the ICPC had the pleasure of attending a presentation of the strategic plan for fighting gun violence and of the Équipe de concertation communautaire et de rapprochement (Team for Community Dialogue and the Development of Closer Ties – ECCR) given by the Service de police de la ville de Montréal (City of Montreal Police Department – SPVM), an ICPC partner, in collaboration with the neighbourhood station #30 of the Saint-Michel neighbourhood.

Concerning gun violence, the SPVM presented the current situation in Montreal and the main directions taken by the strategic plan for fighting gun violence. In particular, the SPVM highlighted the importance of collaborating with the community when it comes to the prevention of gun violence.

This meeting with the community was also an opportunity to meet the new ECCR that has been deployed since April 2021 in many areas of Montreal. This unit aims to connect with citizens and community organizations to find common and sustainable solutions to current or emerging issues around social cohabitation and urban safety.

The event was also an opportunity to introduce several local initiatives in which the neighbourhood station #30 is involved, in particular, those aiming to develop closer ties with the community, especially with youth.

11th RÉSAL Bulletin: Gun violence in Montreal

The Réseau d'échange et de soutien aux actions locales (RÉSAL), of which ICPC is a member, has published its 11th Bulletin, which focuses specifically on gun violence in Montreal. This bulletin presents an overview of the situation in the city since 2015 and a reflection based on scientific and practical knowledge on the prevention of gun violence linked to the activities of criminal groups.

To read this bulletin, please click this link: https://6136368a-8437-46e1-a3e6-676fe96600ca.filesusr.com/ugd/613819_3805dc77e2414b74986f01814b52180d.pdf