Montreal police (SPVM) and the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP) – Quebec prosecutor’s office – are joining forces to launch a pilot project on strangulation in the context of intimate partner violence. It’s a first in Quebec, they explain.
“Studies show that when a person attempts to strangle his or her intimate partner, there is a significant increase in the risk that the victim will be killed by the same person in the future. Strangulation is therefore a serious act that deserves special attention,” said the SPVM in a press release on Tuesday morning.
In Montreal, at least 10 women a week are strangled as a result of intimate partner violence. Last year, 553 files related to this were authorized by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP).
“A person who has suffered a non-fatal strangulation incident with their intimate partner is 750% more likely to be killed by the same offender,” said Ottawa police in March.
“Strangulation is proof of complete domination on the part of the aggressor, demonstrating to the victim that she literally holds her life in her hands. The pilot project is a multidisciplinary solution designed to improve our teams’ response when we receive such reports,” explains the head of the SPVM’s specialized domestic violence section, Commander Anouk St-Onge.
Montreal police recorded 6,520 intimate partner violence-related events in 2023.
Pilot project to be deployed in Montreal’s east end
The pilot project was inspired by best practices in the U.S. and will be deployed in the east end of Montreal – over an 18-month period.
Among other things, it will offer specific training to police personnel at neighbourhood stations and criminal investigation units in the east end of the city, as well as to DPCP prosecutors and certain partner organizations.
The pilot project includes the drafting of a supplement to the victim’s statement, the involvement of the SPVM’s Forensic Identification Section and the intervention of Montreal’s Centre d’aide aux victimes d’actes criminels (CAVAC).
“Information on the various symptoms that can occur in the hours and days following a strangulation will also be given to victims to raise awareness of the health consequences and dangers.”
Eventually to be extended to whole of Montreal
“In addition to improving support for victims in the judicial process, the pilot project aims to better gather all the evidence needed to lay charges against suspects who have committed violence,” adds domestic violence prosecutor Maya Ducasse-Hathi, noting that assault by choking, suffocation or strangulation (art. 267 c) C.cr.) was introduced to the Criminal Code in 2019 following the adoption of Bill C-75.
At the end of the implementation period, the pilot project will be evaluated to determine whether it can be maintained, and eventually extended to the whole island of Montreal they explain.
The SPVM and DPCP also intend to share their experience with other police forces in Quebec.