Montreal metro's new safety plan amid rising mental health and addiction issues

The Montreal transit authority is beefing up security at some metro stations to address safety concerns amid a growing number of people with mental health or addiction issues on the line.

Under a plan announced Wednesday, Société de Transport de Montréal (commonly known as STM) security director Jocelyn Latulippe will deploy four special constables and other security personnel to monitor 10 stations where riders feel unsafe. He said civil behavior was the biggest problem.

Each security team is responsible for a group of three or four stations, among which they investigate premises and respond quickly to problematic situations, Latulippe told reporters.

The new safety plan went into effect on Saturday and will remain in place until the end of the month as a bridge from the cold weather, when many people take shelter in the subways, to the warmer months when there are fewer mental health issues online. , Latulippe explained. He said STM could extend the operation if necessary.

The announcement comes less than a week after an attack outside Lionel-Groulks station sent a 35-year-old man to hospital with serious injuries. Police said they have arrested four teenagers on suspicion of involvement in the attack.

“We're in a pre-pandemic situation in 2024,” STM Board President Eric Alan Caldwell said Wednesday. “There is an increase in reports. There is an increase in vulnerable clients, addiction, mental health in our network. We are concerned about the integrity of our clients,” he said. “We don't want to take our customers for granted.”

Latulippe said the goal of the new safety plan is to reassure riders, but ultimately requires more intervention from health and social services to escort those who need help to the appropriate resources. Otherwise, he said, the subway will remain a revolving door for people who need help but have no other options.

Caldwell called for better health and housing. “Our network is downstream of the problem,” he said. “If we don't address the issues of housing, clinical supervision, mental health and substance abuse, people who can't find a place elsewhere will find refuge in the subway.”

10 destination stations Bonaventure in downtown Montreal; to the east by Beaudry, Papineau, Frontenac, and Joliette; Atwater and Lionel-Groulks to the southwest; and Mont-Royal, Jean-Talon and Jarry in the north. Station 11, the Berry-UQAM transit hub, already provides regular security.

Several subway riders on Wednesday acknowledged that they sometimes feel unsafe on the subway because of the presence of people who are homeless or have health problems, but said they understand there are no easy solutions.

“I compare the Montreal metro now to Los Angeles (where there's) more crime,” said Melissa Dumais, 38, of the Bonaventure station. “We're not there yet, but if we keep this up…”

Frédéric Beneteau, 20, admits to the discomfort some riders have with vulnerable people who may behave in ways they don't expect. “But where do you put these people if not on the subway?” he asked. “That's my question.”

In response to Wednesday's announcement, Montreal city hall opposition leader Aref Salem called the security plan “false” and said it did not include concrete measures to improve safety in the metro. His party wants to add 70 more officers and special constables to the STM and create a comprehensive plan to improve metro safety in Montreal.

STM relies on staff overtime for this month's work. Caldwell said the authority is doing the best it can in the face of a fiscal crisis that has cut spending by $160 million through 2022. The STM has recently committed to hiring 60 safety and sanitation workers, despite 232 layoffs in other departments.

This Canadian Press report was first published on April 10, 2024.

Thomas MacDonald, Canadian Press