The first female director general of the Sûreté du Québec wants to increase the number of female police officers in its ranks, but not at any price. For her, skills will always take precedence over sex.
“When I got the call to offer me the job, it was a big surprise. I wasn’t sure I understood the question, actually,” laughs Johanne Beausoleil, who was officially named chef last month after two years on the job.
On the sidelines of International Women’s Rights Day, the 58-year-old grandmother received representatives of the Newspaper on the eleventh floor of the headquarters, rue Parthenais, in Montreal. His office, whose orchids and plants line the edge of the window, offers him an unobstructed view of the metropolis.
“I’m very spoiled at this level,” she says, smiling.
From the outset, Ms. Beausoleil explains with confidence that she agreed to become chief of the largest police force in the province because she was convinced that she could bring something different to the organization.
Skills first
The place of women in the police is one of the important issues for the big boss, who has broken glass ceilings several times in her life by working mainly in the prison sector. But, according to her, parity should never take precedence over intellectual capacities, knowledge, experience and human qualities.
“Me, I go there mainly for the skills,” she says confidently. Whether it’s a man or a woman, it doesn’t matter. »
But she cannot deny the lack of representativeness in her ranks: barely more than a quarter of police officers are women, and only 13% of officers.
In order to attract more female candidates, Ms. Beausoleil now requires that one-third of the police officers hired be women.
It has also just abolished the mobility consent, which required new recruits to work in remote areas for about four years. This criterion, specific to the SQ, put off several young mothers who refused to go into exile, she believes.
“The work-family balance is something that I know well and to which I am sensitive,” explains the one who notably had to move away from her children for ten years in order to take up a professional challenge in Quebec.
One hour retreat
In the fall of 2019, the 50-year-old even retired … which only lasted an hour, she says, laughing. She indeed jumped on a new project, which then led her to lead the largest police force in the province.
Even though her schedule is now excessively busy, she tries to find a balance between her work and her family.
Affectionately nicknamed “the supreme leader” by one of her granddaughters, Ms. Beausoleil admits to having had the impression of running a veritable marathon for two years.
“I’ve taken about seven days off since the pandemic started,” she says.
But by accepting “the biggest challenge of her life”, Johanne Beausoleil was far from suspecting everything that was coming. Snowmobilers missing in Saguenay, rail crisis, global pandemic, longest Amber Alert in SQ history, repeated feminicides; police operations have been chained non-stop since his arrival in office.
Historical operation
Like the rest of the planet, no one at the Sûreté could be adequately prepared for a health crisis of this magnitude. The police faced heartbreaking choices, such as having to separate families at Christmas or preventing people from visiting their relatives in another region. The social tensions created by their interventions caused a lot of insecurity within the troops, notes the police chief.
“We wrote history with COVID-19,” she says. It is the largest police operation ever known in the history of Quebec. »
Femicide: always one too many
“Each victim is always one too many. The prevention of violence against women is a priority, assures Ms. Beausoleil. According to her, the implementation of the anti-reconciliation bracelet to keep the perpetrators of domestic violence away from their victim will help the police to intervene more effectively.
As soon as a released violent spouse approaches his victim, “we will be informed”, assures the chief.
CENTAUR: target the big arms dealers
Photo archives, QMI Agency
To curb the worrying proliferation of firearms, producers must be put out of harm’s way, believes Johanne Beausoleil.
But this desire brings its share of challenges: in addition to arriving from everywhere, the weapons often arrive in spare parts. Other pieces can be created by 3D printers, then the weapons can then be assembled.
“The challenge is that a gun barrel is going to come in just a piece of pipe. Customs can’t really charge the person who receives this. But we can do a lot of investigations. »
The CENTAURE strategy, bringing together 28 police forces, allows them better communication and information sharing.
His most significant record
“The Amber Alert in Sainte-Paule. This is the longest we’ve ever had. The kidnapping of a three-year-old boy by his father near Matane last September held many Quebecers in suspense, including Johanne Beausoleil. After an intense five-day police operation, the child was able to return safely to his mother.
Photo archives, Jérémy Bernier
“Like other files, we are following it, we want a positive end. We were very happy with the final, because we worked a lot, and for a long time, ”she explains.
In such situations, Ms. Beausoleil demands to be informed of any development, “even at night”.
Prevention
“The less we value our young people being photographed on social networks with weapons, the better it will be,” says Ms. Beausoleil.
For her, prevention is one of the most important avenues for solutions to curb major problems, such as the scourge of firearms, but also sexual exploitation.
“You have to give stuff to young girls, tell them that there’s nothing good about a pimp, that it’s window dressing. We focus on prevention, communication and intervention. In particular, we go to schools and youth centres. And if we see something, we can intervene,” she said.