The first incident occurred in the early hours of Oct. 9, when a Côte St. Antoine Road resident spotted something suspicious while looking out her window.
"We were called about an individual who was looking at cars, riding around on a bike with a flashlight checking if doors were locked," said Constable Caroline Gauthier of Station 12.
In fact, the suspect was rifling through the resident's own car when she decided to call police. They stopped the suspect nearby, thanks to a good description from the resident.
"He may be linked to other crimes, but we have to wait and see," Gauthier said.
A few days later, on Oct. 15, a break-and-entry was foiled by a vigilant caretaker at the apartment building at 4250 Sherbrooke Street. While monitoring the CCTV camera, he spotted two suspicious people in the building's laundry room. When he went confront them, he noticed the money box on the machine had been tampered with. He called police right away with a description of the suspects, who were stopped by police within minutes.
"Both of those (arrests) were due to the collaboration of the public," said Gauthier.
Skateboarders are using Westmount's steep hills for late-night daredevil stunts, often filmed and posted on social networking sites like Facebook. Westmount Public Security is trying to stop the practice for fear that one day someone will get hurt.
Public Security Captain Richard Bourdon says it's not a recent practice but nonetheless a growing concern. "It's impressive, almost a competition," Bourdon admits. "They do this in the middle of the night, but an accident could easily happen."
A special patrol has been put in place to stop the practice.
"We're asking the public to bring to our attention any youth who practice this type of extreme sport," he said.
At midnight on Oct. 22, a Public Security officer approached a man he had noticed lying in fetal position on a bench on Ste. Catherine's Street, concerned he was ill or in need of help.
But the man reacted quickly and aggressively to the officer's attempts to wake him up.
The officer jumped back into his patrol vehicle and radioed dispatch to send backup and officers from Station 12. Meanwhile, the suspect approached the vehicle and smashed his fists over and over on the windshield, nearly shattering the glass.
The man was taken into custody when more Public Security and police officers arrived on the scene. The windshield was replaced.
Westmount Public Security and Station 12 police are prepping students for Halloween and handing out reflective strips in schools to light-up Snow Whites, Hannah Montanas, superheroes and pirates as they trick-or-treat on Westmount streets.
"Don't let costumes get too long, cross at intersections and don't talk to strangers," said Bourdon. "Ideally, trick-or-treat with in groups or with a parent."
Police, cadets and PSOs will be out in force on Halloween night. Station 12 also donated funds to the Halloween Haunted House, which will be open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Oct. 31 at the Lawn Bowling Clubhouse.
Public security will have six extra officers on hand Sunday to maintain order and make sure everything runs smoothly as Westmounters head to the ballot box. "At election time you're not supposed to have election signs near voting bureaus, for example," said Bourdon. "We work closely with the Chief Electoral Officer."
