As Montreal settles into spring, so too does one of the city's more persistent seasonal patterns: an uptick in crime.
And when it comes to break-ins, the past month has been especially busy.
April saw 410 incidents recorded across the island, the highest single-month total of 2026 so far and a noticeable step up from March's 331. That pushes the running total to 1,733 as of April 30, according to data from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM).
Those figures come from the city's Vue sur la sécurité publique interactive mapping tool, which tracks criminal incidents across Montreal in near real-time.
At 13.7 break-ins per day, the month was busier than anything seen earlier in the year. That may not be a surprise. Warmer weather has historically corresponded with more activity, and last year's data showed a similar pattern taking hold as winter gave way to spring.
Where the incidents are concentrated
The SPVM's interactive map continues to show the same general patterns, with the centre and east end of the island absorbing the heaviest share of incidents. The Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Rosemont area remains the single biggest hotspot on the map, followed closely by the Villeray corridor and the Saint-Michel and François-Perrault neighbourhoods to the east.
Verdun is also showing a notably elevated count on the south shore-facing edge of the island, and the NDG and Hampstead area continues to appear prominently in the data.
On the western end of the island, the numbers remain considerably lower, with only scattered pockets of activity visible compared to the central and eastern clusters.
How 2026 is trending
At the current pace, Montreal could still finish the year somewhere around 5,200 break-ins, which would be a meaningful improvement over recent years. Here's how the numbers have stacked up going back a decade:
- 2015: 9,947
- 2016: 9,483
- 2017: 8,816
- 2018: 7,052
- 2019: 6,715
- 2020: 5,733
- 2021: 4,809
- 2022: 5,554
- 2023: 6,048
- 2024: 5,844
- 2025: 6,139
The projection still looks relatively optimistic, but April's uptick is a reminder that the second half of the year tends to do a lot of work. In 2025, October alone accounted for 579 incidents, the busiest single month of the year, so how the summer months shake out will matter a lot.
If you want to check activity on your specific street or neighbourhood, the SPVM's interactive map is available through the City of Montreal's website, where you can filter by crime type and date range.
