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Unsolved murders in Montreal: wounds that don't heal
One year. This is the time that has passed since Meriem Boundaoui lost her life in the parking lot of a bakery in Saint-Léonard. On February 7, 2021, the 15-year-old teenager was shot and killed while in her friend's vehicle. Hoping to see this crime solved? His sister, Safia Boundaoui, is beginning to lose him. “[Investigators] come to the house sometimes, but until when? ” she asks herself. For the families of victims like Safia, hope is difficult to maintain. How do you get there? Is the homicide resolution rate lower in Montreal than elsewhere? Converse has investigated.
Meriem was the youngest of the Boundaoui sisters. Arriving in Canada with the hope of finding a better future there, she dreamed of teaching and buying a store for her father who stayed in Algeria. Canada was a dream country for the young girl. “She cried to come to Canada,” Safia tells us in her home. A sign made last year on a day of remembrance is in Safia's living room. “I was just 15...” it says. It shows the face of the young girl, who has toured the country. A year later, the Boundaoui family is in the same pain. “I can't stop crying for her. Sometimes when I don't want to do something, I think about her and I do it for her. Just for her, she left us too young,” Safia tells us as she looks at the sign, as a little blue bird called Meriem sings at the entrance of the house. It was purchased after the girl died.
To be able to ease her pain, the family of the deceased asks for the resolution of the crime. But after a year, she's having trouble understanding that it's still not resolved. The investigation is still ongoing and no charges have been brought. Safia is in regular contact with Montreal police investigators. She says she has confidence in the police, but that trust is starting to crumble. According to her, the investigators did not do enough. “As long as the case is covered up, it's hard. They're coming home, but until when? she asks. It's been a year since my sister died and there have been no arrests... However, the place where she was staying was really suspicious. We are hearing about it. After a year, why didn't they discover anything? ”
Several people in the neighborhood as well as the police force got wind of some suspects. Names have been named. “Rumors are going around. In the neighborhood, these thugs are known anyway, people know them, the police too”, indicates a source close to the deceased. The shooting is said to be a response to a conflict between two groups of young people that took place a few days before Meriem was murdered.
La Converse contacted the main person in charge of the investigation into the girl's murder, Detective Sergeant François Baillargeon, to try to understand the status of the investigation. He told us on the phone that he could not make any comments so as not to hinder his investigation. “I know everything that is said on the street, and probably more than you,” he did however let it be known. Commenting on the slow pace of the investigation, he explained that, “in some countries, the burden of proof is lower, but in Canada, the burden of proof is very high; we don't want to put innocent people in prison.”
Lower homicide resolution rate in 2021 in Montreal
In 2021, Montreal saw a marked increase in armed violence. A total of 35 homicides were recorded there, a peak since 2010. However, even though the metropolis has more police officers per inhabitant than any other major city in the country, barely half of the cases considered to be homicides led to charges in 2021. According to pan-Canadian data collected by La Converse, this proportion is well below the percentage of charges laid against homicides in almost every major city in Canada. While less than half of the murders in Montreal led to charges in 2021, almost three-quarters led to charges being laid in Toronto.
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A “sick” justice system
Paul Laurier, who has navigated the Quebec justice system for years as an investigator, knows its strengths and weaknesses. In Quebec, “the police assemble the evidence, put the files on the prosecutor's office, and it is the prosecutor who authorizes the charges,” he explains. What Mr. Laurier calls the “prosecutor's office” is the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP). The DPCP acts as a bridge between police officers and the justice system. The files and their evidence are submitted to him so that he can determine whether charges should be brought against the suspect (s). “The DPCP adds a layer. It's not necessarily bad,” nuances the ex-investigator.
But if we look at what is happening in Toronto, where more murders, all things considered, led to charges in 2021, one wonders if the Ontario justice system, which does not include an equivalent of the DPCP, facilitates criminal charges. “In Ontario, it is the police who directly accuse [the criminals]. The prosecutors are there for the Coaching, explains Mr. Laurier. The state is following and supporting [the police] in this.” The former investigator believes that this approach can more easily lead to trials against defendants. As an example, he cites the trial of Jian Gomeshi for sexual assault in 2016, who, despite the accusations against him, was not convicted. “In Quebec, this trial would probably never have taken place,” he said. In short, while the police can themselves take people to court, this does not necessarily result in more guilty verdicts. Nevertheless, Mr. Laurier believes that the justice system in Quebec is “sick.” “The delays are incredible, and the police are at a disadvantage [during the judicial process],” he said. As an example, he cites some technical details that force police agencies to “close” their evidence in a timely manner. “At the time, you could make arrests, and the additional investigation came later. Now, we can't do that anymore. [...] In bandit law versus family law, it's the law of the accused that wins. [...] Meanwhile, bandits have the big end of the stick,” he observes.
An observation that the people close to Meriem Boundaoui also make with bitterness. What they are worried about is that they are not the only ones mourning young people who are being shot. “After the murder of Meriem, how many others were shot dead? It's the same thing,” Safia laments. She believes that if you don't solve her sister's murder, you're normalizing gun violence. “These young people who shoot, they're immune to advice; even if you give it to them, they're not going to listen to them. In their heads, they see death, they see weapons, it's the way they live. [...] So, if they kill once, it becomes very easy for them. They cross the threshold of fear, they become courageous. It's like normalizing that,” she says with emotion. Safia doesn't want harm to the person who shot her sister, but she wants justice so that others don't follow her example. “Don't you think the crime will be solved? ” she is asked. “After 10, 15 years maybe, when you forget everything,” she confides. “I met a lady; her son was killed two years ago in Montreal, she comforted us, she continued. She has been mourning for her son for two years, she has not heard anything about the culprit. That's why I tell myself that, in 15 years, we may have news about who killed Meriem... Sometimes I wonder why, in a developed country, they are not so capable of solving a crime...” asks Safia.
A trust problem?
Many experts agree that trust in a police force plays a major role in resolving crimes committed on its territory. “Of course, we can say that, if there is a great deal of trust in the police force, people will go to the police more, they will collaborate more with them more and they will participate more generally in security,” says Massimiliano Mulone, associate professor at the School of Criminology at the University of Montreal. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has seen this trust erode in recent years. According to a survey conducted by the firm Angus Reid in 2020, only 67% of Montreal residents see the SPVM in a favorable light. This rate is the worst of the 10 largest Canadian cities.
For retired investigator Paul Laurier, the statistics on the resolution of crimes in 2021 are more of a “statistical anomaly” than a consequence of the population's decline in confidence in the SPVM. Almost 90% of the murders committed in Montreal the year before, in 2020, had been solved. “It's difficult to investigate [nowadays],” explains the man who worked for the Sûûté du Québec for more than 20 years. “Just because there are no charges doesn't mean the case is not being investigated and the sources are not considered credible,” he said.
The type of murder could explain the low resolution rate in 2021, according to criminologist Massimiliano Mulone. “I am not sure that we can make such a direct correlation [between public trust and the resolution of murders]. For 2021, it is possible that some of the homicides [in Montreal] are linked to internecine wars in organized crime. They are homicides that are much more difficult to solve,” explains the researcher. A hypothesis that is also mentioned by Paul Laurier. The latter explains the low crime resolution rate by the recent wave of violence linked to the proliferation of firearms. “2021 was catastrophic,” he concludes.
Omerta among young people
At Collège de Maisonneuve, we meet Mohamed Mimoun who works as a counsellor with students and coordinates the Saint-Michel Youth Forum. He knows the challenges faced by young people in the neighborhoods well. Many confide in him. He explains this lack of trust to us. Mr. Mimoun is not surprised at the low resolution rate of crimes related to armed violence in Montreal. “I have the impression that the police are unable to get information and that, if they do, they cannot get a clear testimony from someone who can provide evidence [...] Young people are closed. If they witness something, they would rather go and take revenge themselves than go see someone to share the information,” he says. As an example, he cites young people from Saint-Léonard who were the subject of armed attacks last week and who told him that they refuse to talk to the police because of a lack of trust. The same observation after the death of Amir Benayad, this 17-year-old young man shot dead in Plateau-Mont-Royal during a brawl between two groups of young people in January, reports Mr. Mimoun. The young people present know who shot, but don't want to tell the police. “There were young people who wanted to avenge their friend instead of going to the police. Why? Because they don't trust the system,” says the youth worker. “Is it because solving crimes takes too long? ” we ask him.
“I think they know that the police don't have the power to solve cases because they're not connected in communities; they can't get into that circle. We are between communities, we know who did this, but it seems that the police cannot reach that circle to find out who did what. That's how young people are starting to see it, it's like a power. They don't feel protected by the police.” So those who shoot even feel that they have more power than the authorities. For Mohamed, this observation is a consequence of police negligence with regard to racialized communities that has been going on for a long time. “It is the consequence of what we have not done for years: we are not connected to communities. It's like revenge for young people, who say to themselves: “You are here just to annoy us with arbitrary arrests and profiling. Well, go out of your way now to find your criminals, the real ones, not the guy who burned a fire or who's hanging out in the park!” ”
Is transparency bearing fruit?
Despite the high number of unsolved murders, it is difficult for the general public to have information on these crimes, as the SPVM limits access to these files. On its website, only details of six homicides are available to the general public, with the most recent being in 2012. A quick search on the web tells us that some police services take great advantage of the Internet to solve crimes on their territory. So the Toronto police are making all of this information public. On its site, you can consult the ongoing investigations into the murders committed in recent years as well as the “cold” files, that is to say, files that are not the subject of an active investigation.
For Paul Laurier, distributing such information on the Web is a technique to be recommended. “The Toronto police are very active [online]. These are good practices. These are simple things that don't cost millions,” he points out. Why does the SPVM not facilitate access to this type of information? Consulted by email on this subject, the SPVM's media relations section replied that “this way of doing things did not bear fruit” and that “efforts and resources have since been directed differently to advance the investigations”. It is also noted that “the SPVM is always on the lookout for various possible lines of investigation in order to solve unsolved murders.”
How do we solve more crimes and prevent gun violence?
While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact causes of this low resolution rate, the reality for victims' families has not changed. How can we better solve these crimes and bring peace to bereaved families? “I think everyone's objective is the same: to reduce violence and juvenile delinquency in East Montreal. But it involves bringing people together, it involves communication”, tells us Robenson Raphäel, youth worker at Horizon Carrière in Saint-Léonard. We meet him in his office on Jean-Talon Street. Robenson works under the Fresh Start program, which aims to help young people who have dropped out of school to return to school or to the workforce. The local is a few steps away from where Meriem Boundaoui was killed a year earlier, right next to the Castel bakery. Since this tragedy, Robenson has noted a greater police presence around the building: cadets, police officers on horseback, cameras, patrollers are often visible. But he feels that we need to go further: “For me, going further means going further means talking to people, asking them how they are feeling,” he pleads. Police officers also need to learn how to talk to neighborhood people and young people.
A relationship is not once a year; the approach changes everything.” Robenson believes in working with young people who fall into crime and lose hope in the justice system. “A young person who dies is difficult. I don't think a young person wakes up and says, “I want to be a criminal.” The police are doing their thing, but we too have a role to play with the population,” he says. “We can help young people report things, but that means education. I say: “If they don't collaborate with the police, let them collaborate with someone. Because as a young person, there are burdens that you carry — it's very heavy. Sometimes you can't talk to mom and dad about it. But there is still a speaker, a friend you can talk to. My objective is to say that we are there for them, that we are listening and that we want to be part of the solution. We are ready to help them if they want to be helped,” explains the youth worker from Saint-Léonard.
Robenson Raphaël agrees, however, that youth programs are not always adapted to this segment of the population. “Of course, the program was set up years ago, it's not done like: “If you have guns in your house and you shot someone, yo G, get out of the Hood and come to us.” I have some people on my program who were really into it, they know what's going on in the street. We want young people to know that they can find a job and that there are other things they can do to change the course of their lives,” he recalls.
Safia's message
Back at Safia Boundaoui's house, she is asked what she would like to say to young people who use weapons and to the person who killed her sister. “How do you have the courage to take up a gun? Can you imagine... if someone kills you, do you think about your family, your parents? Do you have feelings? If you don't have feelings, I can't talk to you. Sometimes you have feelings, but you do it reluctantly. Do you have feelings in your heart? Tell me, do you still have feelings? she asked with a trembling voice. She paused for a moment. “The person who killed my sister, I would like to see. Does he have a conscience? He went to kill someone else. I think that day will never come, I will never see this person. If I were in his place, I would go to the police.” She does not wish him any harm, only punishment. “To be able to kill, he is sick, he is not in his head. He is a victim, I think of his parents even,” she adds.
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Meriem Boundaoui as a child, in her native village in Algeria.
Safia also wants to reach out to parents of adolescents to ask them to pay attention to the mental health of their children. “I want to get a message across to parents, I want to ask them to follow their children, their mental health. If my son is dangerous, I can detect it, I can know it. I am the first to know that my son is dangerous. I can do something for him, to take care of him,” observes the mother of the family.
*La Converse has been in contact with the SPVM several times in an attempt to discuss the homicide resolution rate in Montreal in 2021. The communications department did not answer these questions and instead referred us to the DPCP. At the DPCP, we are told that it is difficult for them to comment on this rate since only files that lead to accusations are sent to it. With regard to the percentage of the police budget allocated to the various types of police officers, the SPVM communications service tells us that it does not have this information in hand and that “such an approach would take time, but it would also require the mobilization of resources that would then no longer do “police” work”.