The City of Montreal, police and Montreal public transit authority (STM) announced measures to improve safety on the metro on Tuesday. The measures aim to increase security presence, improve support and enhance surveillance on the city’s underground train transit system. Six new measures First, the city will spend $6.4 million per year to add 52 more constables by the end of 2027 for a total of 230. The Montreal police (SPVM) will deploy 12 officers pending the new constables’ appointments. “This increased presence will enable more frequent patrols, ensure constant coverage of stations identified as critical, and reduce response times, whilst helping to enhance the sense of security among customers and staff,” the city said in a news release. Secondly, there will be more screens in the control centre to monitor the around 2,500 cameras throughout the network. The upgrade will cost $3 million. The STM and SPVM will increase resources for the Metro Intervention and Coordination Team (EMIC) and expand the teams from two to six, particularly in the evenings and during winter months. There will also be more social workers in the metro and more frequent train services to reduce waiting times by five per cent to start the 2027 academic year. The city says this is the largest increase since 2017. The STM also created a new senior management position for security and organizational resilience, which will be held by former Quebec provincial police and Montreal police officer Martin Prud’homme. His mandate will be to improve safety and security across the network. “Montrealers must be able to take the metro while feeling safe, whatever the time of day,” said Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada. “As winter approaches, we are increasing our presence on the ground, improving support for vulnerable people and providing the STM with additional tools to respond quickly.” In the coming months, the city will roll out 24-hour heating shelters for vulnerable people in the winter. The regional public transit authority (ARTM) welcomed the new measures. “A sense of safety is an essential part of the customer experience and a determining factor in the decision to use public transit,” the authority said in an email. “Strengthening specialized social outreach services, adding special constables, and increasing metro service frequency are concrete measures that will help build users’ confidence in the network.”
