Police Tickets Issued To Homeless Montrealers Have Soared In Recent Years, A Study Says

A new study out of the Université de Montréal, Université de Sherbrooke and University of Ottawa has found that police tickets issued to Montreal's homeless population have soared over the past 27 years.

The researchers analyzed 50,727 statements of offence issued in Montreal between 2012 and 2019 to individuals who provided the address of an organization that offers services to the homeless.

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40% Of Montreal statements of offence are issued to the homeless, according to the study

The study shows that eight times more statements of offence were issued to homeless Montrealers in 2018 than in 1994 — 1,054 in 1994, compared to 8,493 in 2018. 

Between 2014 and 2017 — in just three years — the study says the number of statements of offence issued to the homeless more than doubled from 3,841 to 9,580. 

Of the total number of statements of offence analyzed by the research team, 65.4% were issued by the Service de police de la Ville de Montreal (SPVM).

The remaining 34.6% came from STM officers.

The study found that more than 68% of the tickets issued to people experiencing homelessness in Montreal were given out in the Ville-Marie borough.

Seven percent were issued in the Plateau Mont-Royal, 5.9% in Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and 5.6% in the Sud-Ouest.

Between 2012 and 2018, five times as many statements of offence were received by Indigenous homeless individuals, from 135 tickets in 2012 to 547 tickets in 2018.

The initial debt accumulated by homeless Montrealers who received statements of offence between 2012 and 2019 adds up to $17 million, according to the study.  

This article's cover photo was used for illustrative purposes only.