Quebec Public Security Minister commits $250M to combat gun violence, hire more Montreal police

Public Security Minister Genevive Guilbaultannounced the province will commit$45million each year over the next five years to up the presence of police officers in Montreal.

Another extra $200 million each yearwill alsogo tostrengthening the province-wide crackdown on the gun trade.

Theannouncement Saturday inresponse togrowing gun violence in the city follows two daylight shootings lastweek, and a vow fromQuebec Premier Franois Legault on Wednesday to "restore order and protect citizens."

"I said this before when announcingOpration CENTAURElast September and I'm saying it again today. We've had enough of the violence in Montreal," Guilbault told a press conference just after 1 p.m.

Over the next five years Montreal police will have access to enough funding to hire new 450 officers. Half of the funding will come from the province, with the rest coming from the city, Guilbault said.

"Here in Montrealcitizens are especially on edge. Our citizens are scared and don't feel safe," shesaid."I always said if we need to do more, we will do more."

Guilbaultspoke alongside interim police chief Sophie Roy, Mayor Valerie Plante andChantal Rouleau, the junior transportministerfor the region.

Plante knows the coming hiring blitz will be cause for concern for some, especially in communities that feel targeted by police brutality, but emphasized the commitments that have also been madeto fund the prevention of violent crime.

"Yes there's still a lot of work to be done, clearly. But the message we want to send today is that we are fully behind our police force," she said."We want[the public]to support our officers in their work as well."

"Right now we're facing an extremely difficult situation with the increase in violence and guns, so we also need to have a robust answer to that."

Guilbaultacknowledged the challenges that lie ahead for theService de police de la Ville de Montral(SPVM).

"There is a challenge in recruiting and keeping police officers in the SPVM and this is a shared challenge,"shesaid, saying higher overtime pay and support from provincial police have been in place in the interim.

There's over 750 graduates from Quebec's police academyeach year. There will be 72 morestarting this yearfor Montreal's police service specifically, Guilbault said.

With the support of $5 million from the province the city will also be upping the number of social workers who workalongside police. It's a sum also being matched by the city, a spokesperson confirmed.

The team responds to mental health related calls, which make uproughly 30 per cent of all 911 calls. However police officers are still the ones showing up to most calls something Plante says needs to change.

"This will give police officers more room to breathe," she said.

In the short term,a teamof over 60 officers many of them criminal and intelligence investigatorswillbe ramping up the force's crackdown on organized crime,Radio-Canada hasreported.The squadcould hit the ground as of Sept. 12.

The officers at stations dealing with fewer crimes will be floated into moreviolent areas of the city to achieve this.

Daylight shootings

The announcement comes astwo men were killed in daylight shootingsin twoincidents less than an hour apartlast Tuesday.

The first, a 44-year-old man, died after being shot in the parking lot of RocklandShopping Centre in the Town of Mont Royal.

The second took place about 40 minutes later inside a pizzeria on St-Denis Street, in Montreal's central Latin Quarter, where a 50-year-old man was fatally shot.

More gunshots also rang out in Montreal's Merchier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough around 9 p.m. Friday.

There were no injuries reported by police, who said several shell casings were found on the groundby thecorner of Grosbois and TaillonStreets.