A policewoman who enters a residence without being entitled to it and seizes property there. Police officers who illegally detain an individual. A policeman who uses more force than necessary to grab a protester at neck height.
These are some of the cases heard this year by the Police Ethics Committee and the courts concerning acts committed by Quebec police officers, and which are listed in the 2020-2021 annual report of the Quebec Police Ethics Commissioner.
The report shows an increase in complaints to 2,407 this year, a 35% increase over the past four years. The number of investigations opened by the Commissioner following complaints is also on the rise. It has gone from 146 investigations initiated 4 years ago to 220 this year, a 50% increase.
-
IMAGE FROM THE REPORT OF THE POLICE ETHICS COMMISSIONER
-
IMAGE FROM THE REPORT OF THE POLICE ETHICS COMMISSIONER
1/ 2
As for the number of files leading to the filing of citations, filed by the Commissioner when he considers that the evidence warrants it, it is also on the rise. 4 years ago, 39 cases were filed for citation. This year, 82 cases have been, notes the report, which covers the period from 1er April 2020 to March 31, 2021.
“It sends a whole message”
Is this increase due to the fact that more and more reprehensible acts are committed by the police? Or that the public is more aware of their rights and less hesitant to denounce?
“It is potentially a mixture of the two, estimates Max Stanley Bazin, president of the Black League of Quebec. People are becoming better informed, and organizations like ours are making sure that abuse is reported. ”
According to Mr. Stanley Bazin, some police officers do not respect the rights of citizens in a systematic way.
This is obviously not the case for all police officers, but as long as there are no real sanctions, exemplary sanctions, it will always continue.
Max Stanley Bazin, President of the Black League of Quebec
According to Me Fernando Belton, president of the Legal Clinic of Saint-Michel, the report is worrying, because barely 3% of the 2407 complaints end up before the Police Ethics Committee, he notes. “In previous years, we were always at 6% or 7%. So, there are practically half the number of cases that go before the committee, which has the power to sanction a police officer for a derogatory act. It’s worrying. I don’t think it reflects the number of faults committed – the increase in the number of complaints proves the opposite. ”
Out of 308 complaints made about racial profiling, none resulted in a citation before the Ethics Committee, he notes. “It sends a whole message. What we say to victims is: “believe in the system, but you, we don’t believe you”. It is completely paradoxical. ”
Me Belton and several of his colleagues often no longer even file a police ethics complaint in racial profiling cases. “The number of barriers is enormous. You have to be part of the 3%, and then you have to plead your case. It is not a given. ”
Rémi Boivin, associate professor at the School of Criminology of the University of Montreal, notes that the reproaches addressed to the police officers – whether they are founded or not – concern a tiny part of the interventions carried out by the police officers of the province. .
“To put this in perspective, we are talking about less than 100 cases per year that lead to the filing of citations, and this, while the various police forces in the province carry out millions of interventions. It’s still a good batting average… The goal is to have zero quotes, but it’s still an illusion. ”
He also notes that the rate of refusal of complaints is “quite high”: it is around 64%, roughly the same proportion as four years ago, when rejections reached 63%.
He notes that the “police are not independent of society”, and that they are part of it. “When there is an increase in complaints, this link between police and society is less obvious. The way to think about it is: do today’s police services meet the needs of today’s society? This is what I take away from this report. ”
Joined by Press, the Association of Provincial Police Officers of Quebec (APPQ) did not wish to react to the report.
Minimal penalties
During the fall, several cases of police violence made headlines, including the beating of Pacific Niyokwizera. The 18-year-old Quebecer was violently arrested by the Quebec police, and the images showing a police officer throwing snow in his face sparked an uproar.
Mr. Stanley Bazin notes that, according to the young man’s version, he was put to the ground just because he was filming the work of the police.
“He found himself embroiled in something he shouldn’t even have been involved in. I would like to point out that filming is permitted as long as it does not interfere with the work of the police. In his case, this is so true that no charges have been laid against him. ”
In this case, the police officer could be accused of assault, or even assault with injuries, since the eyes of Pacifique Niyokwizera were bloodshot after the events, according to Mr. Stanley Bazin. Several investigations were launched, in particular with the Police Ethics Commissioner and by the Independent Investigations Office (BEI), at the request of the Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault.
When a member of another profession, an engineer for example, commits an objectively less serious offense, he receives much more serious penalties than those to which the police are exposed, points out Mr. Stanley Bazin.
An engineer can see his right to practice suspended for 2 to 3 months, while the police officer who commits an objectively much more serious act will have a sanction which can go from 5 to 14 days. It’s scandalous.
Max Stanley Bazin, President of the Black League of Quebec
According to Me Belton, one of the big problems is the “conciliation” procedure which is at the heart of the police ethics complaints process. It is a meeting in a room between the victim and the police officer (s) whom she accuses of having committed a derogatory act against her. “It is mandatory: if you refuse conciliation, we can close your file. You are sitting in front of the police, and you have to talk to each other. It is as if a victim of sexual assault had to sit across from their abuser and have to complain in front of them, face to face. I understand the idea behind conciliation, but I do not understand how we can impose this on people who consider themselves to be victims. ”
Encouraging gestures
In 2021, the Legault government made several actions that were demanded by minority defense groups.
The government announced in December an investment in the training of police personnel to counter racial and social profiling. In addition, last month, the Quebec government launched a first advertising campaign to combat racism and end prejudice.
One of the objectives of the Black League for the year 2022 is also to ensure that certain racist acts are included in the Criminal Code, he said. “In France, racist acts have been incorporated into the Penal Code since 2017. What is good for the French should be good for Canadians as well. ”