The rich and their private security
Rich people sometimes chip in to get private security for their cushy neighbourhoods. Item notes that even the city has used security firms to patrol areas like the Village at times.
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Kate
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Joey 10:54 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
This reminds me of a conversation I overheard near the top of the oratory shortly after the ice storm a couple of years ago; I learned then that basically all the residents of Upper Westmount had gone out and purchased generators so they wouldn’t have to deal with short-term power failures like the rest of us. This is the kind of thing that, best case scenario, erodes social cohesion. Worst-case scenario these private security become de facto police.
Kate 11:20 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
Westmount has always had a private security force that patrols in addition to the SPVM, I think.
Nicholas 11:50 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
I don’t know if it’s fair to call their Public Security unit “private security”. They’re city workers who respond to various lower level complaints, which is actually what I hear as a model people want: have a noise complaint, or a car breaks down in the middle of the street, or a contractor doesn’t have a permit? These people with no guns will respond. A good portion of what they do is parking enforcement, which Montreal has too, but they also do this other stuff, which Montreal also has but with various different roles doing those jobs, rather than these people with multiple hats. And this means police can focus on the higher risk stuff rather than the nuisance. Maybe Montreal should adopt this model (good luck with the Brotherhood negotiations!).
Ian 12:02 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
Outremont and TMR have somethng similar, too.
Joey 12:22 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
At least those guys are accountable to the relevant city, not a handful of residents.
Kate 12:44 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
True. I didn’t intend to suggest that what Westmount et al. have is wrong.
But it does draw a line, doesn’t it? Between people who summon security to protect themselves, as in the wealthier towns and boroughs, and those who have security summoned on them, as in the Village.
bob 16:23 on 2025-07-29 Permalink
Village crimes are right there in front of you. Westmount crimes happen in corner offices and offshore accounts.
Hampstead also has their own security – remember? https://therover.ca/hampstead-fired-whistleblower-who-made-corruption-claims/
“Public security” is an ok model, but anyone put into a uniform and a utility belt needs to be watched.
Chris 08:08 on 2025-07-30 Permalink
If we went through with the whole ‘defund the police’ idea, you can bet that the rich would hire themselves plenty of their own police, and the poor would be left to rot.
Tim S. 09:39 on 2025-07-30 Permalink
When I lived in Westmount, I was probably fairly low on the income scale (though believe it or not, there is social housing there, tucked away by the train tracks), and I relied on Public Security a lot. People buy multi-million dollar homes and hire cowboy contractors who disrupt entire neighbourhoods? Public Security will help you out. Your kids can’t use the playground because a bunch of personal trainers have taken it over as an outdoor gym for their clients? Call public security. Someone’s parked a giant SUV in a crosswalk? Public Security. My point is, as long as there’s a basic commitment to enforcing the actual laws, PUBLIC security of this kind can actually even the playing field between classes, and it’s actually a model I wish the Montreal boroughs would adopt. Private is a different ballgame.
Kevin 16:21 on 2025-07-30 Permalink
On a recent trip I saw cops wearing their mission on their vests: brigade anti-incivilité.
And if their job really is to make things peaceful and help people get along, great.
At least they encouraged the rowdy drunks to hush up and stop harassing passersby instead of cracking heads.
Nicholas 16:52 on 2025-07-30 Permalink
I’m not saying public security is a perfect model — there’s a reason you mostly don’t see homeless people in Westmount (as described frequently in the local paper, they’re escorted to the city limits by the public security). But Tim is completely right: if you have a nuisance complaint, a PSO will come out and deal with it, while police rarely will anywhere (and it feels weird to call them over this). They’re often there before police or paramedics for bigger things. And they’re an all-purpose number to call for anything less than an emergency, and you get a human right away. For Montreal 311 you select your borough, go through a phone tree, and then maybe someone gets dispatched today. Some of the Montreal services are actually quick to respond, but I remember a Montreal by-law officer showing up to my place to respond to a complaint that was filed by a previous tenant at least 2 years prior, and a year later I got mail notice of a decision from the TAL for the tenants before the previous ones. It would be great if other governments were as service-oriented as Westmount is.