Quebec police officers are withdrawing from certain operations or going so far as to refrain from intervening, in particular for fear of repercussions and criticism in the public space and in the media, concludes a study carried out by the Center for Research and Strategic Development of the National Police School of Quebec (ENPQ).
Police disengagement, or depolicing, is an abstention on the part of the police officer from intervening in certain situations to avoid repercussions, even when the law allows him to act.
The risk of an ethics complaint, a civil suit or being the subject of an investigation by the Independent Investigation Bureau (BEI) is at the heart of the concerns of the police officers consulted. “We can be accused criminally for having done our job,” said one participant, according to the testimony provided by researcher Camille Faubert.
The fear of being filmed or mediatized and of going around the networks is omnipresent, and creates a context conducive to disengagement in the eyes of the police, adds the expert.
Several participants fear being accused of racial profiling.
“These states of mind would result in a decrease in efforts and involvement at work, the reluctance to intervene which sometimes leads to not intervening at all and sometimes to looking to the left when it is happening to the right”, explains the researcher.
The consequences reported by the 186 participants in the study are diverse: demotivation, discouragement, loss of attachment and interest in the profession, demobilization or even indifference.
“There’s a little voice in my head telling me I’m going to be in trouble,” said a police officer during the search.
Of the police officers who took part in the study, 21 were randomly selected for interviews.
The agents say they are confronted with public criticism and ignorance of the police profession, but also a lack of organizational support.
The “media sensationalism” and the perception of the feeling of injustice were also evoked.
The ENPQ intends to offer awareness training on the existence of the phenomenon. We aim to implement prevention strategies and develop a support approach for managers.