Violent crimes rose in 2022, car thefts skyrocketed: Montreal police
CTV
Montreal police (SPVM) stats for 2022 show that crime went up dramatically in 2022 and, taking COVID-19 pandemic numbers into account, violent crimes have been on the rise overall since 2017. In addition, motor vehicle thefts skyrocketed, having more than doubled since pre pandemic years.
The annual report for the Montreal police service (SPVM) shows that crime went up dramatically in 2022 and, taking COVID-19 pandemic numbers into account, violent crimes have been on the rise overall since 2017. In addition, vehicle thefts skyrocketed, having more than doubled since pre-pandemic years.
According to the SPVM's 2022 Activity Report, there were 27,389 "crimes against the person" reported in 2022, which is up over 2,000 more reports than in 2021 (25,130). That number is substantially higher than pre-pandemic numbers in 2019 (23,694), 2018 (20,593) and 2017 (20,217).
"While it is risky at this time to determine whether this is an emerging trend or to identify the underlying causes, several assumptions can be made," the SPVM said in its report that was released Friday. "The impact of the disruptions experienced during the pandemic, isolation, and erosion of the social fabric are factors that can be considered. Nevertheless, regardless of the reasons, the evolution of crime remains a primary focus of the SPVM."
Homicides continue to trend upward, with 41 reported in 2022, up four from the year prior but higher than by a dozen compared to pre-pandemic numbers: 2019, 25; 2018, 32; and 2017, 24.
Attempted homicides, however, were down to 100 in 2022 from 139 in 2021 and 122 in 2019.
Police say that half of the homicides and 60 per cent of attempted homicides involved firearms. There were more than 1,000 more assaults reported in 2022 (15,818) than in 2021 (14,233), and that number is over 2,000 cases higher than in 2019 (13,275), 2018 (10,918) and 2017 (10,421).
Police said that the majority of the reported assaults are level one assaults, meaning they caused "little or no bodily harm."
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