Tag: security

The ICPC published a report on current youth recruitment strategies by criminal gangs

Today, despite the massive use of social networks, which can lead young girls and boys to gravitate more and more towards delinquency networks, we also know that poor acquaintances, the need for recognition, poverty and the lack of opportunities for young people to engage in legitimate activities are determining factors in the enrolment of young people in criminal activities.    

This growing scourge has led the International Centre for the Prevention of Crime to conduct an in-depth study with the purpose of fully understanding the phenomenon, the issues involved in recruiting young people, and the stakeholders directly or indirectly involved. The Quebec Ministry of Public Security has therefore mandated the ICPC, through its Montreal Urban Safety Lab in 2022, to collect data aimed at updating our knowledge of the realities on the ground in order to better prevent the recruitment of young people by criminal gangs.  

The final objective of this report is to provide crucial information for a better understanding of this phenomenon and to formulate recommendations for improving the safety of living environments in the area most affected, sucha as the city of Laval, a Quebec city located on the outskirts of Montreal. According to the Laval police’s 2021 activity report, the number of crime-related increased by 14% between 2020 and 2021, including a significant number of firearms-related incidents (42) in 2021.    

 

 

The report is presented in 3 sections:   

1. A framework for analyzing the phenomenon and the specific characteristics of criminal gangs, as well as the risk and protective factors associated with their entry.  

2. The socio-spatial context of the study, highlighting the specific sociodemographic, socioeconomic, and sociocontextual characteristics of the territory concerned, i.e. the Chomedey district of Laval.  

3. A third section divided into five sub-sections:  

  • A few definitions to define the subject of the study;  
  • Risk factors associated with gang affiliation;  
  • The role and recruitment of women and girls in these networks;  
  • The growing importance of social networks in the process of joining criminal gangs;  
  • An assessment of the current intervention system to identify possible solutions put forward by stakeholders to prevent or reduce the risk of young people joining criminal gangs.  

Read the report here (available in French only) 

Read the press release (available in French only) 

The ICPC mandated to carry out a local safety audit in Pakua Shipi

Through the Ministry of Public Safety’s Municipal Support Programme, which provides funding to municipal organizations with populations of less than 100,000 in the province of Quebec, the ICPC has been mandated to carry out a local safety audit for the community of Pakua Shipi. This initiative, supported by the provincial government, aims to strengthen community safety and prevent crime through a range of preventive measures.  

A small Innu community on the Lower North Shore with a population of 350, Pakua Shipi’s geographical isolation makes it difficult to provide access to quality public services. This leads to challenges in hiring and retaining personnel and consequently impacts the socio-economic conditions of the population. What’s more, various historical events linked to colonization have resulted in the transmission of traumas down the generations, from which many social and economic issues arise.

In this context, the ICPC’s expertise in carrying out a local safety audit is an essential first step in assessing safety and violence issues in the community, before putting in place long-term solutions and an action plan for the community. 

This project was carried out in 2022 and completed in 2023.