Public Security to emphasize prevention following close call in park

Public Safety Director Richard Blondin was reacting to a complaint brought to the Examiner's attention by a de Maisonneuve Boulevard resident, who said her son experienced some emotional trauma last month after being confronted at Westmount Park by a man who was behaving strangely.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, said she wanted to share her family's experience with other Westmounters because child-abduction incidents, like one this past summer in Trois-Rivières, can also happen close to home.

"About a month ago on a Thursday he was walking through Westmount Park," she said. The 11-year-old boy, while walking in a laneway at the western end of the park, which leads from de Maisonneuve to the rear of the greenhouse complex and the public library, was approached by a man who appeared to be in his 30s. The man emerged from a parking lot behind Westmount Park Church and addressed the boy aggressively.

"He came right out of the alley, he came right up to my son, and said, 'Hey, kid,' right up to his face. Because we've always taught him not to talk to strangers, my son took off. He's a big kid, but he was so freaked out … But before he had a chance to touch him, my son just took right off.

"And so we called the police and they came immediately," she added. "They advised Public Security and we went back to the spot with my son to make sure and to see where it was. It was very obvious that the guy had bad intentions. It was around 3:30 p.m. and that's when a lot of kids come home from school, and there are a lot of kids who cut through the parking lot behind that church… If somebody wanted to take a kid, it would have been very, very easy."

Although Blondin meets at least once a week with Public Security staff to be briefed on recent incidents, he said he hadn't heard anything about this one. He also noted that this type of incident is the responsibility of the police, although Public Security officers do some patrolling.

"We're there for the prevention of crime and it's our duty to enforce patrols in such areas," he said.

Blondin also said a restructuring of his department that he has been carrying out since becoming director 15 months ago will place more emphasis on prevention.

"Prevention of crime is part of our mission," he said. "For sure, we take reports seriously, but the official report must be made with the police. The police make the investigation, and we put more patrols and pay more attention to these matters."