Équipe multidisciplinaire d’intervention dans les écoles (EMIE)

Since 2020, gun violence incidents involving young people are on the rise in Montréal. It is a complex issue that needs to be tackled from various angles. For example, young people promoting failure to report crimes and glorifying firearm possession on social media are important risk factors that need to be taken into account. 

The current digital age considerably contributes to promoting gun violence and crystallizes a culture of trivializing gun violence for young people. Various online platforms now provide young people with additional ways of becoming marginalized and may become vehicles for spreading criminal values to new generations.

This is why the city of Montréal and the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) have formed the Équipe multidisciplinaire d'intervention dans les écoles (EMIE), with financial assistance in particular from the Ministère de la Sécurité publique (MSP).

Mandate

The EMIE’s mandate involves: 

• Improving services and intervention expertise in schools by supporting community relations officers and community development advisors.
• Providing immediate support following a gun violence incident in a school or risk of violence in an advisory role and taking part in developing a proactive strategy plan.
• Connecting professionals in schools, PDQs and various institutional and community players, based on the principles of shared responsibilities.
• Developing a gun violence prevention toolkit providing a support pathway to young people in secondary schools.
• Taking part in prevention and outreach initiatives in schools.

SPVM’s commitments

The deployment of the EMIE is one of the commitments made by the SPVM at the Forum montréalais pour la lutte contre la violence armée : s'unir pour la jeunesse held in winter 2022.

We highlight that the SPVM’s priority is to fight gun violence and is continuing to implement many actions to strengthen Montréal residents’ feeling of safety and keep our city safe. In the current context, the need to bring together as many important players as possible is also essential.

In June 2022, the SPVM was awarded $4.05 million in financial assistance by the Ministère de la Sécurité publique du Québec to create and implement a multidisciplinary intervention project in schools. The city of Montréal has granted $400,000 for this project.

The Gouvernement du Québec's investment is part of CENTAURE, la Stratégie québécoise de lutte contre la violence armée, with a view to taking action in secondary schools in Montreal where needs are targeted with community partners.

Duties and responsibilities

Civilian personnel make up the majority of the EMIE’s workforce, which includes a commander, a lieutenant-detective, a research officer specialized in social media, a youth training officer, three civilian community development advisors, three community consultation officers and a strategic advisor.

Police personnel

• The commander is responsible for coordinating the EMIE, giving strategic orientations and acting as institutional representative for youth cases. 
• The lieutenant-detective supervises the EMIE. Her knowledge of investigations, judicial process relating to the Youth Criminal Justice Act (YCJA) and extrajudicial measures contributes to consolidating the EMIE’s wide-ranging expertise.
• The three liaison officers act as prevention officers. They work in mixed duos with the three community development advisors, and also in close partnership with the community relations officers at PDQs.

Civilian personnel

• The three CDCs are professionals with specific expertise in social issues, which is complementary to the expertise held by other members of police personnel. They will take action where the needs are felt and work in close collaboration with community relations officers and prevention officers present at all neighbourhood police stations (PDQs).
• The strategic advisor collects and analyzes data for data contextualization purposes. He produces accountability reports on the EMIE project for the Ministère de la Sécurité publique. In addition, he develops and monitors the strategic intervention framework.
• The youth training officer helps the team develop prevention tools adapted for young people and intended for use in schools. She sets clear objectives and provides tools which encourage learning by the target audience.
• The research officer specialized in social media takes part in developing prevention tools linked to her field of expertise, while collaborating with EMIE members and various professionals in schools and community players. She identifies social media trends and supports various internal and external partners with regard to the impact of such trends on incidents of violence.

The EMIE coordinates and works in synergy with community relations officers, civilian community development advisors at PDQs and officers from the Équipe de concertation communautaire et de rapprochement (ECCR).

It provides support to them when gun violence incidents occur, primarily in secondary schools.

As part of its preventative action, the EMIE can:

• Participate in the distribution of violence prevention tools.
• Take part in kiosks or initiatives aimed at preventing violence.
• Meet secondary school management to identify their needs in this respect.

When immediate support is required following a gun violence incident, the EMIE can:

• Meet the community relations officers to take note of the response plan developed by the commander of the PDQ.
• Meet the school management and team with the community relations officers to find out their immediate needs.
• Suggest accompanying these officers to visit classes to reassure and raise awareness of students about ways of sharing information that can help the investigation.
• Put forward written communication intended for parents and school personnel members.

In the scope of post-incident support, the EMIE can:

• Collaborate on developing a proactive strategy plan relating to gun violence, jointly with the school management.
• Take part in a feedback meeting with the school management, community relations officers and the CDC at the PDQ concerned.
• Present prevention tools for students to the school management and draw up a distribution plan with them.
• Maintain a connection with professionals and community organizations in the school.
• Carry out monitoring with the community relations officers and the CDC to verify the current status.

• ECCR (Équipe de concertation communautaire et de rapprochement)
• EMRII (Équipe mobile de référence et d’intervention en itinérance)
• EMIC (Équipe métro d’intervention et de concertation) french only
• ESUP (Équipe de soutien aux urgences psychosociales)
• PCA (Patrouilles conjointes autochtones)
• ECHINOPS (Équipe communautaire hybride d’interventions novatrices OSBL Psychiatrie SPVM) french only