The Control of Public Spaces in Montreal in Times of Managerial Justice1

In Montreal, homeless people and protesters receive a disproportionate number of statements of offence. These statements of offence are issued by the Montreal police department for the homeless and protesters’ occupation of public spaces (such as sleeping in a park at night or participating in an unlawful assembly). However, those offences are rarely tried and most of the statements of offence are instead withdrawn through prosecutorial discretion, but not before several court hearings. This process seems to indicate that the police court network is departing from the adjudicative ideal to enter a managerial justice paradigm. Punishment seems to happen both at the moment of the arrest and during the pre-trial procedures. In times of managerial justice, the police are punishing certain illegalities and the court is managing marginalized populations.