Montreal police are stepping up their patrols and visibility as several demonstrations are planned over the next few days in connection to the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
They say the goal is to make sure both the Jewish and Arabic Muslim communities feel safe, especially as they confirmed that the five arrests made on Wednesday morning of people possessing incendiary material, they believe, were linked to the conflict and suspect they were meant to be used at synagogues in Côte Saint-Luc and Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG)
READ MORE: Montreal police probe whether incendiary materials, five arrest, tied to Middle East conflict
“There’s a link that’s being made with the conflict, so when there was arrests, it was two separate incidents, and we did make a link to this conflict,” said Vincent Richer, the deputy director of the head of the organizational services division of the SPVM.
The five people, including three teens, were released with conditions and a promise to appear in court. While the decision was criticized from community groups, police say they followed standard procedures.
“There’s the Jewish holidays right now that are taking place, so we were in contact with the different communities, also the Jewish community, to understand how to better our visibility,” explained Richer.
A visibility plan was put in place on Oct. 1, adding officers in areas where there are more Jewish or Muslim places of worship and other institutions.
“These police officers are not there to answer 911 calls, they’re there just to be visible, so that’s the first part,” said Richer. “We have [undercover] police officers also that are on the ground to try to make arrests if there’s a suspect or if there’s a situation that is going on,” said Richer.
Mohamed Aziz Bouhdid, the chief inspector and head of the West Region Service adds, “Since the beginning of the conflict, several hate crimes and incidents have been reported to us. As of Oct. 1, 41 people have been charged. However, the number of events have fallen significantly in recent months. Over the last three months, 27 hate crimes and incidents have been reported to us for a total of 288.”
Synagogues and Jewish schools in Montreal have been targeted with Molotov cocktails and gunshots in the last year. Of the reported hate crimes and incidents to police, 213 were directed at the Jewish community, and 75 towards the Muslim-Arab community.
“We know that what’s going on in the conflict, in the Middle East, affects the safety of the population in Montreal,” said Richer. “So we have to be concerned, but the population can feel safe.”
As of Oct. 1, police say there have been over 350 demonstrations linked to the conflict, where police made 106 arrests.
“I have to reiterate that most of these protests have been done peacefully, and we hope for the next couple of days that it will be still peaceful for these protests, and we encourage people to protest, but peaceful.”
Universities will also receive increased security. This comes as McGill University is upping security on campuses from Oct. 5 to 7, and after an “impromptu protest” on Sunday night left Concordia University windows vandalized and broken and downtown businesses also affected.
“Because there’s a lot of tension right now, so we want to make sure to have a reassuring police presence,” said Richer. “For Montreal police, it’s a priority for us to be on the ground, to help them feel safe.”