June 2021: the eternal debate on the supposed benefits of video surveillance returns to the table of the municipal council. That day, it is a question of recording the installation of two video protection cameras, rue Molière, in the Côte des Roses district. The request comes from Batigère. The social landlord intends to stem a long-standing narcotics traffic in the city-stadium as well as around one of its buildings.
The majority acceded to the request: “In this street, there are drugs and it is our responsibility to monitor”, insists in particular Christiane Zanoni, assistant devoted to security issues. “The cameras secure the place but move the problem elsewhere. This does not contribute anything to the fight against delinquency, ”objects the opponent Brigitte Vaïsse.
In reality, no one will be right. Traffic hasn’t slowed down or shifted: it’s still thriving in this remote part of the neighborhood…
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Cameras broken two days after installation
August 3, 2021: under police protection, the two inquisitive lenses are deployed on the roof of the building. On August 5, two days later, the protection system no longer emits any signal: “They reached the roof through a smoke extraction hatch,” laments Laurent Cavalieri, the head of the municipal police.
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“They” were never found. However, “they” did not take care to work discreetly that evening: “I saw everything, heard everything. I was coming back from vacation, they broke the cameras with hammer blows, testifies, on condition of anonymity, a resident. Between residents, we even bet how many days the device would last. »
Resigned, fatalistic, she describes the scene that is playing out right now before her eyes: “There, now? It deals in the city. Openly, with complete impunity. »
“Today, even more than yesterday, we feel a sense of abandonment”
For more than two decades, our witness has seen drugs irrigate the heart of the Côte des Roses: “I would almost miss the older generation. They trafficked more discreetly and without disrespecting the inhabitants, ”she judges, measuring the scope of her remarks. The new generation would be wilder: “They howl at night, sometimes set fire to vehicles. I speak from knowledge: my car was vandalized. »
She was asked about the role of the police: “When there is a patrol, very young lookouts alert the traffickers. Anyway, no one dares to complain. Today, even more than yesterday, we feel a sense of abandonment. “This sector lends itself well to escape”, recognizes Laurent Cavalieri.
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Which solution ?
Deadlock. How to treat rue Molière, which has nothing to do with an imaginary patient? Preventive and repressive policies do not seem to have any hold on this traffic rooted in the daily life of the district.
For Christiane Zanoni, however, there is no question of looking down. The path of video surveillance could once again be explored: “We are thinking about putting cameras back in places where they would not have access. “They” however have resources…
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