Seattle Forward

Montreal Gangs

Last night, Renee Cunningham, executive director of the Seattle Police Foundation, and I rode with a Sargent from Montreal's Eclipse police unit, a specialized squad of uniformed officers who focus on certain high offender street gang members.  There is a separate gang unit made up of detectives who build cases and identify gang leaders.

The gang problems in Montreal—about 20 street gangs operate citywide—involve prostitution, drugs, and illegal guns.  The Eclipse squad targets gang leaders who range in age from 30 to 45 years. 

Montreal's gangs include foreign gang members from Haiti, Jamaica, and other Latin American countries.  Juveniles are recruited "to do the dirty work."   We visited one strip club in downtown Montreal frequented by gang members.  Officers checked identifications of patrons and spoke with the owner, a woman with a government day job helping juvenile offenders make better choices (that was a massive disconnect, for sure).  The obvious question was whether the owner uses her day job to "recruit" dancers for her club.  Police suspect she does.

About a month ago Montreal police arrested the leaders of a motorcycle street gang—many remain in jail—who controlled much of the street prostitution and drug trafficking in the downtown core of the city.  In their absence, other, less organized gangs have moved to establish their own foothold.   

Montreal: City of Creativity

I'm in Montreal, Quebec with about 60 other Seattle-area business leaders and government officials.  (For the record, I am paying all costs associated with this trip from my personal funds.)  These inter-city study missions are sponsored by the City of Seattle and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce; the first was in 1983 (Baltimore). 

We arrived in Montreal last night and return to Seattle Friday evening.  The focus of the trip is Montreal's aerospace industry, transportation, health care, police services, especially anti-gang efforts, and the creative sector as a driver of economic growth.

Here are a few highlights so far . . .

Best Phrase:  "Transportation cocktail," as in what cities need when engaged in transportation planning.  The phrase was used this morning by Helen Fotopulos, mayor of the borough of Plateau Mont-Royal, one of 82 municipalities that make up greater Montreal.  Mayor Fotopulos said:  "The city has diversity in transportation options, everything from cars, subway, trollys, pedestrian walkways, bike lanes, a transportation cocktail really." 

Mayor Fotopulos (hands raised) describing her approach to urban planning, density, and transportation. 

Note Mayor Greg Nickels in background to the left of Mayor Fotopulos.  Councilmember Jean Godden is partially hidden on the far left. 

This photo was taken during a walking tour this morning that included an old section of the borough that has been redeveloped with small shops, bars, and restaurants while preserving affordable housing.

Best New Service:  Bixi Montreal is a new bicycle service launched two weeks ago in the central core of Montreal by the city government.  Users pay $78 per year for unlimited use of a bicycle in 30 minutes increments; exceed 30 minutes and you pay $1.50 per minute as a penalty.  The service is designed for short rides from point A to point B, not commuting or leisurely rides. Widely used in Europe, the service is aimed at commuters who use public transportation to get to work but might need a bicycle to run a quick errand or get across town for a meeting.  Just over 3,000 users have signed up so far.  By the end of May there will be 300 Bixi Montreal stations installed in the city.  The photo to the right shows Seattle transportation director Grace Crunican examining one of the Bixi bikes.  Bixi Montreal representatives are coming to Seattle in August to show off their bicycles and station technology.

I rode one of the Bixi bikes.  They are made in Quebec just for Bixi, have three speeds, and are heavy.  Thankfully, Montreal is relatively flat.  Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay and Mayor Greg Nickels even took a little test ride. 

Best Experience:  Coming up tonight when I ride with Montreal police gang unit officers starting at 9:30. 

Council Budget Criteria Decision

The Council just voted to set our highest budget priorities as public safety, human services, and housing. At my urging, we also affirmed that police staffing increases should continue until all elements of the Neighborhood Policing Plan can be successfully implemented. Also at my request, the Council urged the Mayor to increase funding for youth mentoring services in the 2010 budget.

Police Stings and Accountability

Seattle police have been working to improve pedestrian safety with a series of "sting" operations aimed at drivers who fail to yield the right of way to pedestrians.  I've written about this before.  Now, The Seattle Times has written about it.  So, beware, you've been warned . . . again!

My committee will take up the Mayor's nomination of Judge Michael Spearman as the new Office of Professional Accountability auditor tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.  You can read the nomination packet on Judge Spearman here.  Read today's Seattle Times editorial endorsing Judge Spearman.