Crime in Montreal, Canada

Stay out of the black areas and you'll be much much safer and enjoy the city way more.

We were parked in a bright lot with cameras at the Old Port, during broad daylight BESIDE a monitored security office, and security patrol driving around. Our window was broken and backpack with laptop was stolen. Children's things in the car and all.

I have lived in Verdun last 3 years. no problems at all. I even go biking at night. I leave at 10 pm and come back in daylight. I bike all over downtown city. lil burgs. east end all down st catherines est untill it ends where thr real ghetto and prostitutes and ive never ever hsd a problem

Toronto claimed 150+(per year) murders when I was living there in 2002-2004. I surely avoided some areas.

Damn Marla, you must be on some type of hard drugs. Montreal is the safest major city in North America, and one of the safest in the world! most people here are just making shit up, such as Marla. Crime is going down yearly.

Typo on that last email, I meant that I have BEEN followed, harrassed and assaulted by strangers in that filth stinky city.

I have been in Montreal for just over 3 years and was assaulted 8 times by strangers. 4 were women, 4 were men, 2 were sexual assaults. The others involved a punch in the arm, a woman tried to break my legs by pushing a stroller with a child in it right into me, one guy walked right into me after getting off a bus attempting to cause me harm and hurt my legs. They seem to be into leg breaking in that town. Some of these people seemed crazy, some not. 2 were French Canadian, the rest all immigrants, non English. I am always getting harrassed in that town by people trying to get me to talk to them and they seem to be into some kind of criminal activity. The police are lame there too. Does not help the situation. That city has a long history of extreme violence committed by people who should be locked up in max security.

#granny moses: I urge you to call Purolator (1 888-744-7123) and ask to be put in touch with the St-Pierre depot to report this incident as that is the depot in which the courier would be based out of. They will definitely investigate the situation as such an act of violence is not tolerated by Purolator.

Want to note that "corruption and bribery" is mostly on the higher up levels. The cops & other service level people aren't corrupt and will not take brides like in other third world countries, especially Eastern Europe. Here we are talking about political system corruption. I'm writing this in case someone gets a wrong idea and tries to bribe a cop - this won't end well!

I've been living here for 4 months. So far, I've been pickpocketed at the old port when I had a large purse (someone managed to reach in and grab it without me noticing!) and today my passenger window was punched out of my car, and my laptop was stolen while at the gym. Having moved here from the US where I never had any issues, I'm extremely disappointed. Worst city ever.

There are low income neighborhoods with minorities everywhere but there not necessarily violent. Id say the areas where you hear about the most violent crimes (Assaults,Stabbings,Shootings) Are in Ville Saint Laurent (Ranked Number 1 for Attempted Murder), Saint-Michel, Montreal North. If youre a tourist you shouldnt even go in these areas anyway. There far from downtown and all the attractions.

RDP, Verdun, Lachine Ville-Saint-Laurent have some pretty slummy areas. But most of the time crime is inbetween gangs and criminals. Just to be safe if your a young lady, just stay away from any sketchy areas at night. Montreal is a great city

Chameran is a lot better since they shut down the drug and fraud operations. They arrested over a dozen people. There hasnt been any shooting or incident in a while. Kids can play outside and moms walk the neighborhood without a problem. If youre white tho it might be hard to fit in since its pretty much only Africans and people from the middle east.

Ahunsic cartierville is very small .no restaurants no high end shopping what so ever.everybody is drunk , on drugs, or selling them. Females cannot walk the streets without someone thinking your a prostitute. Not a safe place to raise kids and the police I'm sure are a gang of their own defiantly never walk alone after 8 pm its sad

I lived in Montreal virtually all my life, and I'm, by local standards, perfectly bilingual. I feel like I have seen more crime during my youth than now. However, the city is evolving. It's really simple if you want to escape crime; look at the housing and the amount of graffiti around.

I've generally felt safe most of the time at night. Avoid Verdun, south of Pie-IX, Mtl-Noire along Lacordaire, south Berri/Ste-Cathrines, sometimes Park-ex.

Common sense goes a long way. Don't get involved with "Thugs." Don't have an attitude when you do. Don't enter into staring contests with questionable people.

I think the potholes are worst than the crimes, but that's just me.

Crime rate is on the rise, avoid neighbourhoods like Mtl-north, st Michel, pointe st-Charles, little burgundy.. High crime rates; drug dealings, shootings/stabbings, robbery, muggings...

Worst parts of Montreal susceptible of attacks are Southwest (Lachine,Lasalle,Verdun) and Northeast (Saint-Michel,Montreal-North) but mostly gang related (Red & Blue). Berri metro area has a drug problem that is EXTREME.

You must've never been around other places in verdun cause i got robbed on egan street the other day

I have no idea what you people are talking about I live in Verdun , it is the nicest and safest neighborhood around, lots of families and cheap rent and amazing restaurants. No problems, a few beggars but c mon i ve seen more in Sudbury, Ontario and Trois Rivieres , Quebec than in Verdun and seriously they all keep to themselves. I m a rather large guy but my girlfriend is a tiny pixie and she s never had any trouble either. The only places really to shy away from in Montreal is Montreal North and a few streets in Lachine but with gentrification there is less and less of those.

Montreal, like any city, definitely has its problems but my experience here has been so unpredictable that its hard to say whether it's a lack of safety or my own dumb luck: was held at gun point by a bunch of teenagers in Westmount park (a notoriously "safe" area with its own police force), have been verbally harassed by countless strangers in the metros, on buses, while driving in taxis (other cars) and on the streets, however this has never reached a physical point, though I did carry a knife for a long time because of this. I've always lived in the South-west area and for sure, these places are not perfect-in every apartment I've had, at least one of my neighbors were clearly drug dealers/drug den operators which is fine as long as you don't get involved beyond being friendly. I've heard plenty of stories about muggings-even house raids. But I think a little bit of street smarts goes a long way. Be aware of your surroundings.

The real shame of this city is the anglo/franco tension. It's horrible as an anglo. I was born in Quebec and have never left but still feel like a constant outsider and second-class citizen. If you are an English-speaker and hope to move to Montreal, I'd seriously reconsider. This city eats up the hopes and ambitions of specifically English-speaking folks and offers nothing in exchange.

I have been living in Montreal for three years now (before I lived outside the island), and I am a young lady, walking most of the time alone. I never had any problems. Just be careful and stay in good neighborhoods.

I was living in Cote-des-Neiges close to Westmount (avenue Victoria/Chemin de la cote St-Luc). I never walked alone in streets after midnight and never had a problem, if you are a small group or with a man it's usually very safe even at night. From this point to downtown is approximately 25$ for a taxi ride. I do not recommand anyone else than a student living in Cote-des-Neiges because in summertime (from May to august) nothing goes on in Cote-des-Neiges, but from September to April there is a lot partying because of universities around. nd there are some areas of Cote-Des-Neiges (close to Plaza Cote-des-Neiges) hardcore and very poor, the closest you go from the Mont-Royal the safer you are.

The old port of Montreal is a very expensive area, but awesome with activities going on all year long, particularely during summer. Downtown is a must but I'd rather live a little bit further.

I strongly suggest to live in centre of the island : Villeray, Plateau Mont-Royal, Mile-End, Outremont, Westmount, Old Port of Montreal, Downtown, Rosemont, Le village (le Village is a gay area with a lot of bar and restaurants, but if you are hetero you might be annoyed by the amount of attention you will receive), Le village Shaughnessy, La petite italie. In short, live close to the Mont Royal (mountain), all the soul of montreal is around this awesome area. Montreal is a very artistic and open minded city. Speaking french is a good plus, but as a french native I can tell you if you learn basics as (thank you/merci, please/s'il-vous-plait, hello/bonjour, good night/bonne soirée, etc.) you can perfectly fit in the city, but if you plan to stay for years, PLEASE take a lesson, you will struggle finding a good job in Montreal if you don't speak french.

DO NOT :
Do not live in areas where there are no metro, it usually means there is no action or no cool stuff going on there cause it's too far, and it's a nightmare moving from a point to another.
Do not rent a car if you come in Montreal for a short trip, it's VERY HARD TO FIND A PARKING, and parking infractions cost 53$. (I had 3 in one week, you don't want this -_- )
Do not sit beside the taxi driver if alone.
Do not go in parks at night.
Do not hang out around metros after it's closed. (Metro in Montreal is not opened during night, usually closed arount midnight, take a taxi if you are too far from your destination.)

Hope my review will help you loving Montreal as much as I do.
and by the way : Winter here is aweful, if you are not from a Nordic Country you will found out you've never knew what it's like to be COLD AS FUCK lol But still we get used to it :) Enjoy :D

Born and raised in Montreal, I have to say im looking to leave this city in the near future. CRIMES ARE ON THE RISE. I got attacked recently and beat up to the ground, kicks to the head with no mercy from young MARROCAIN immigrants! Just to steal my phone. This place is becoming a shithole from bringing all these french speaking illiterate immigrants.

Do not take risks, walk with a strong pepper spray at all times, if you can get a gun at home do so. I barely know anyone who didnt get robbed, had his car jacked or attacked on the street. Do not think of coming here unless we get rid of all these new infiltrators out. Immigrants who came from 2000 and onwards.

Its sad that this beautiful city has turned upside down. Thank you for bringing the world garbage here.

Well is interesting to see how people see the city.
I most say I have lived in Montreal-nord and Lasalle. Most of my life in Montreal-nord, and I gotta say in the area of Montreal-nord where are lived was pretty safe, Lacordaire toward metro HB, passed Lacordaire toward RDP is bad, I wouldn't even think of going on that direction at night and even less alone. Alot of dark little streets, you don't feel safe. But from Desy, Lacordaire and onward (heading west) to me, is good, I'm talking Montreal-nord of course, there is a little area in between that I heard is not good either but not violent (I guess I heard that from people with prejudice ) around the Pie-IX bridge, and that most be because there is alot of "black" people (I'm half-black by the way)and well we have tendency to be loud lol. Personally I have never seen anything going on there, but back in my teens, there is to be rivalry between HB High and Calixa High and of course Pearson High.

When I used to live in Lasalle, I didnt see anything bad, I lived in Ravary street, close to Newman, there was a SuperC and close by the Angrignon mall. I felt safe and could walk by that area close to my house at night. I think during my time there there was 2 murders in the area south to were a used to live, and if I recall correctly 1 was a cab driver and I can't remember exactly the other, and I knew about it because of the news, else I wouldnt known.

Lately I heard ST-Leonard is going bad, if so, what shame... nice sector, nice houses.

All that to say that everyone has a different view on Montreal, some provide feedback without haven't live in the area, just because they heard it was bad, it doesnt mean is bad... when providing your view on something, you gotta be specific , else you are misleading people.

There's a lot of physical fighting between guns not a lot of shootout. However the city is full of drug dealers and consumer. It's crazy.