Combating social inequality and creating sustainable communities is what lowers homicide rates — not police

Combating social inequality and creating sustainable communities is what lowers homicide rates — not police

According to Mayor Plante, the homicide rate is down thanks to the Montreal police. If this was true, it would make Montreal the first city to have solved the homicide problem with police.

In reality, police don’t prevent murder. Mostly because they’re not psychic. 

There’s no evidence demonstrating that policing, or police funding, lowers the violent crime rate. The Americans spend more on policing than any nation on Earth, and it hasn’t meant less crime, let alone fewer homicides.

Combating social inequality and creating sustainable communities is what lowers homicide rates, not throwing money down the bottomless pit of the police budget.

Montréal a enregistré une baisse de 21 % du nombre d’homicides en 2023. Montréal figure aussi parmi les grandes villes affichant le plus faible taux d’homicides au Canada.

Notre modèle montréalais de sécurité publique porte fruit. Bravo au @SPVM ! https://t.co/HeOl81dmXT

— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) December 12, 2024

For more commentary about Montreal politics and culture, please visit Observations from Montreal.

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