Getting to know young people and gaining their trust even before adolescence to prevent organized crime from plunging them into delinquency: this is the mission that the City of Laval has given itself over the next ten years to prevent crime among young people. under 35 years old.
The broad outlines of the Strategic Plan for Security and Collective Well-being for the years 2024-2034 were presented to the media on Monday morning. The initiative targets adolescents and young adults under 35 at risk of becoming involved in crime. The targeted individuals will be monitored from the age of 12 in order to have a concrete influence on their life path.
“This historic partnership in Laval that we are building together will create a stronger, safer and more pleasant city,” rejoiced Stéphane Boyer at a press briefing Monday morning.
Several events of armed violence have occurred in Laval in recent years, recalled the mayor of Laval. Despite a clear decrease in the number of shootings and an increasing number of firearm seizures, the City of Laval is now focusing on prevention in order to fight the scourge of crime among young people, in collaboration with the police department. , the health network, schools and community organizations.
“The last few years have been difficult in Laval and Montreal,” admitted the mayor.
Increased police numbers, summit on public security, Centaure project to fight against firearms: several initiatives put in place have led to a clear reduction in violent events linked to firearms. “However, we should not take anything for granted, it remains something fragile,” added Mr. Boyer.
“By and for young people” approach
Young people are at the center of these new actions aimed at making them citizens who contribute to their society in a positive way.
The prevention plan extends over ten years and includes the launch of several actions every two years. The motto: put the young person at the heart of the process by trying to understand their environment, the dynamics of the neighborhood, their family, their needs in terms of mental and physical health and at school.
On the ground 24 hours a day every day, police officers are at the forefront of societal changes, underlined Pierre Brochet, Laval police chief.
“What has struck me a lot in recent years is young people. More and more young people with guns. Organized crime uses young people. There is pressure to increase criminal sentences. »
He also reiterated the importance of tackling the many causes that lead a young person to get a weapon and shoot, adding that the young offender sometimes experiences violence himself.
Through the Government of Canada’s Building Safer Communities Fund (FBCS), the Quebec Ministry of Public Security (MSP) has invested more than $4.6 million in this Strategic Plan.
