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SPVG Presents its 2021 Annual Report
Gatineau, April 26, 2022. – Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG) Chief Luc Beaudoin today presented the 2021 annual report for his organization. Highlights on requests and types of calls | ● | The Centre d'urgence (CU) handled 319,101 service requests in 2021, following its all-time high of 438,996 in 2020, which was attributed to the pandemic. |
| ● | The number of calls requiring police intervention has been rising steadily over the past five years. In 2021, there were 77,021 such calls, accounting for 63% of the service requests handled by the CU.
– Of those calls, 14% concerned a crime. The 86% of calls that did not concern a crime included runaways and disappearances, complaints, domestic disputes, assistance to the public, policing at demonstrations or events, suspicious individuals or vehicles, and so on.
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| ● | In 2021, there was an 8% increase in police interventions related to mental health issues. Of the 3,883 police interventions, 27% of the cases involved the Unité d'intervention de crise (UNIC) – whose two-person teams consist of a police officer and a CISSS de l'Outaouais worker. |
Highlights on crime | ● | Despite an increase in crimes in 2021, the overall volume of criminal offences reported to the SPVG fell short of pre-pandemic levels. |
| ● | Crimes against persons increased by 9% compared to 2020, for a total of 255 more criminal offences, bringing the total to 3,181 for 2021. |
| ● | The greatest increase in crime numbers was in assaults with weapons, common assaults, criminal harassment, threats and sexual assaults. |
| ● | Some of that increase was due to the increased number of complaints of domestic or family violence. The number of media reports on femicide in Quebec and the strained pandemic context may have contributed to the increase in the number of denunciations.
– The CASCADES pilot project set up with SPVG partners in an attempt to prevent homicides in domestic and family violence assessed 13 situations.
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| ● | Crimes related to child pornography increased by 23% in 2021, for a total of 76 files. The offences were mainly associated with the distribution and possession of child pornography. |
| ● | At 4,878, the number of property crimes in 2021 remained comparable to the previous year.
– Break and enters and thefts from vehicles fell clearly, as did auto thefts, which reached their lowest level in five years.
– The number of crimes involving fraud maintained their year-over-year increase. In 2021, fraud and identity theft increased by 7% and 33%, respectively.
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| ● | SPVG officers continue to work very hard in the fight against narcotics. In 2021, the initiated crimes team conducted 110 investigations, did 87 searches and made 78 arrests.
– Unfortunately, the use of fentanyl and heroin continued to lead to overdoses in Gatineau in 2021. The SPVG is working closely with all of its local partners in their efforts to prevent deaths and provide rapid intervention.
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Highlights on road safety | ● | After an exceptional year in 2020 thanks to significantly less traffic during the initial months of the pandemic, the volume of collisions in 2021 reached the annual averages prior to 2020. |
| ● | Despite the 25% overall increase in collisions in 2021, 507 of which involved vehicle damage, collisions causing injury decreased by 8% compared to 2020. |
| ● | Criminal driving offences also decreased by 9% in 2021. |
| ● | Continuing its efforts to reduce the number of deaths and injuries on Gatineau's roads, the SPVG conducted 3,119 road safety operations in 2021, and participated in six combined provincial or national operations. |
Other | ● | The SPVG added 13 police officers to its bike patrols over the summer, deploying them to parks and popular areas to connect with the public, enhance prevention and help ensure the safety of cyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable users of public roads. |
| ● | The Section du contrôle animalier responded to 4,873 calls to 311, and reviewed 282 cases of dangerous dogs, leading to the issuance of 36 court orders. |
| ● | The SPVG seized and kept 27,233 items of evidence, and ran 11,535 criminal records checks. |
| ● | Despite the cancellation of several activities due to the pandemic, police gave 169 presentations against violence and bullying in schools and 59 #Gardeçapourtoi presentations on the prevention of child pornography. |
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| ● | “The pandemic had a widespread impact on the work of all SPVG staff, including civilian and police. Despite all the challenges, from the tense social climate to the increase in mental health interventions, the application of never-before seen sanitary measures and managing the isolation of our employees offering essential services, we found a way to stay on track and carry out major projects aimed at protecting the public. I am proud of our annual report and of the organizational flexibility it demonstrates. This was only possible because of our employees' resilience and commitment,” indicated SPVG Chief Luc Beaudoin. |
Associated document
2021 Annual Report
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