At the sight of the men in blue, a woman suddenly folds up the square of fabric on which she had placed some junk jewelry and moves away from the entrance to the “Bobigny Pablo Picasso” metro. Several street vendors follow suit. They will return to settle down a few minutes later, when the municipal police patrol has left the scene.
“Once I called them, they never came”
“It is useless, slips Fanta, a resident of the Paul-Vaillant-Couturier district who observes the scene from afar. It’s a game of cat and mouse except the mouse never gets caught! “A feeling shared by Martine, at the foot of one of the towers of the Cité Karl Marx, she wonders about the missions of this municipal police that she says “never cross in the city”. “Once I called them because two young people were beating each other, they never came. Anyway, they arrive when the blood has already flowed, ”she says annoyed.
A feeling that contrasts sharply with the means invested by the town hall of Bobigny to ensure security. This was one of the campaign promises of the mayor (UDI), Stéphane de Paoli, who assured in 2014 that he wanted to create “a municipal police and a video protection network to give meaning to republican authority”. Five years later, 20 municipal police officers occupy the premises of a former medical office located just next to the Pont de Bondy. “They will soon be 24,” says Rosine Firozaly, deputy director of public tranquility for the city.
Patrols and CCTV
The brand new premises also house an urban supervision center (CSU). On about ten screens, two operators scrutinize the images of the 48 video surveillance cameras scattered on the main axes of the city. Monday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. “We are in permanent radio contact with the patrols that are deployed. We tell them where to go, ”explains the deputy director.
Total investment cost: 4.1 million euros. Not to mention the next 16 cameras which should arrive in 2020. A security arsenal deployed in record time: the police were only created in June 2016. “We were fueled”, says Rosine Firozaly.
Break-ins and destruction down
Behind her desk, she promotes the “good numbers” of her recruits. Going through the daybook register, she lists since January 2018: “94 interventions concerning attacks”, “121 concerning rubbish deposits”, “112 for consumption of alcohol on the public highway”, “37 for illegal occupation of halls of buildings” and “188 interventions to evacuate or pacify squats”.
A presence on the ground which would have made it possible to drastically reduce the number of certain crimes. Burglaries, in particular, fell by 40% between 2014 and 2018, destruction and damage by 63%.
Explosion of drug crimes
On the other hand, crimes related to drug trafficking have exploded. +72% in the space of four years. As the municipal police cannot intervene on this subject, a partnership has been signed with the national police. “We are in contact with them all the time. They can come as reinforcements and we communicate our information to them. »
“Before it was hard to go to the Cité de l’Abreuvoir but today we have created a climate of trust. My police officers don’t act like cowboys,” assures the director.
In the Karl Marx estate, many residents lament their absence. “We never see them,” says Ipsitem, a longtime resident. An absence that the director recognizes herself: “If we go there we get stoned. We still need a little time. »
elected officials respond
– > Our file on municipal elections in Bobigny
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- Bobigny: wild garbage dumps invite themselves for the municipal elections
- Municipal in Bobigny: the puzzle of building slabs
- Municipal: the major social housing project is still debated
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