Montrealers have less confidence in their police service than the rest of Quebecers, reveals a Léger poll conducted last spring on behalf of the Ministry of Public Security.
20% of Montreal respondents indicated they had little or no confidence in their police service. This statistic amounts to 14% for all of Quebec. The survey was conducted on more than 10,000 respondents across the province, both by telephone and online.
In Montreal, almost one in three respondents disagreed that “the police service is effective in preventing crime.”
However, 85% of respondents from all of Quebec said they had confidence and were satisfied with their police service.
The president of the working committee and former head of the SPVQ (Quebec City Police Department), Robert Pigeon, described the survey approach as “rigorous” and “courageous”. “The goal is to obtain a comparative measure for the future,” he said at a press conference.
Across Quebec, 28% of respondents disagreed that their police department “deployed sufficient effort to adequately respond to issues related to certain social problems.” The survey gives examples of homelessness, mental health and the overdose crisis. This figure rises to 49% for the island of Montreal.
