After seventeen years patrolling Laval’s Metro stations, the Laval Police Dept. hasn’t been providing patrol officers at the three stops since May 1 when a contract with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) came to an end.
The LPD had been providing security on a regular basis at the Montmorency, de la Concorde and Cartier Metro stations since early 2007 when the Metro extension to Laval first opened.
But according to the Journal de Montréal, a breakdown in negotiations for the latest contract between the STM and the LPD led to patrols by LPD officers being cancelled.
So, although LPD officers won’t be present full-time at the stations, police from Laval will be responding to 9-1-1 calls should that be necessary.
In the meantime, special constables with the STM’s own in-house security unit will be assigned to patrol the Montmorency, de la Concorde and Cartier stations, according to a spokesperson for the Montreal-based transit agency.
The J de M noted that, unlike regular police officers, members of the STM’s force aren’t armed with handguns.
They carry telescopic batons and pepper spray instead.
