A little over a month after the series of media violence (murders, rapes, shootings, overturned policeman, etc.) that shook the Nantes conurbation, the authorities met on Monday evening in the Loire-Atlantique prefecture for the committee management of the integrated security contract stipulated between the Municipality and the State. The opportunity for the actors to take stock of the latest data on delinquency. “A certain number of dramas have moved public opinion”, the prefect, Didier Martin, immediately acknowledges. The budget unveiled for the months of September and October, however, reveals a “significant improvement in the situation”.
If physical violence against people increased by 5.7% throughout the department compared to the same months in 2021, it decreased by 2.1% in the Nantes conurbation and 1.6% in the city of Nantes. “Rather encouraging” results that hide disparities: violence on public roads has greatly decreased (-27% in the agglomeration), while intra-family violence has increased (+7.5% in the agglomeration). The same rather positive trend in terms of damage to property (theft, burglary). These decreased in September and October by 4.9% in Loire-Atlantique, by 14% in the Nantes conurbation and by 18.5% in Nantes, compared to 2021.
The effect of the additional staff?
For the prefecture as for the city of Nantes, this observation could be explained by the “strong mobilisation” of the police and gendarmerie services, but also by the creation of additional resources. In fact, around 70 national police officers gradually arrived until September, mainly assigned to the public highway. Reinforcement doubled, from the end of September, with the introduction of a CRS unit of about 70 agents. “They participate in the improvement of results”, welcomes Didier Martin. “Commitments are kept. Nantes residents say they see more presence, more authority on public roads. It is reassuring ”, said Johanna Rolland (PS), mayor of Nantes, who she does not forget to point out that the volume of interventions by the municipal police has also increased.
Still, it’s hard to draw many conclusions from a two-month-old photograph. The annual safety report, released no earlier than the end of next January, will demonstrate whether or not this improved impression will hold over the long term. “This collective battle is long-term,” insists Johanna Rolland.
As for judicial activity, presented in the last ten months of 2022, it shows “very strong” growth. Presentations in the Prosecutor’s Office at the end of the police detention are 30% more than in 2021, as are the referral mandates. An increase justified by a finer “selection” of files to be treated as a priority, justifies Renaud Gaudeul, Nantes public prosecutor.
