Quebec police forces are combining initiatives to better respond to the scourge of domestic violence. These include specialized police teams, mechanisms to direct victims immediately to support services, and training sessions on coercive control — all of which seek to make a difference.
Among the testimonies highlighted in 2020 in the report Rebuilding trust — on supporting victims of sexual assault or domestic violence —we finds those of women who said they had been poorly served by the police, or who had not felt listened to when they filed a complaint, reported Annick Brazeau, president of the Regroupement des shelters pour femmes victims de violence conjugal .
“The police want that to change,” she notes.
The police play a key role, because they are often the first on the scene when a person is threatened or assaulted, and they remain important throughout their legal process, she explained at the end of February, on the occasion of a training seminar in Gatineau on coercive control, which was also attended by dozens of police officers from the region.
Training
Police forces are receiving more in-depth training, as recommended by the report Rebuild. This is the case of the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM).
This year, all police officers in neighborhood stations — there are around 2,500 — will undergo three and a half hours of training in domestic violence, including patrol officers. The first attended at the end of February.
“A first,” rejoices Anouk St-Onge, commander of the section specializing in domestic violence at the SPVM, who is at the origin of the project. Information sessions had been offered before, but nothing as structured, she said.
The training will focus in particular on coercive control, post-separation violence, non-compliance with conditions (“breach of conditions”) and the risks for children exposed to domestic violence, explains the commander. It will be offered by officials from the Group of shelters for women victims of domestic violence.
“It makes all the difference,” she judges. The better the police understand, the better they will be able to support victims and refer them to the best help resources,” and place a safety net around them.
Commander St-Onge explains that police officers are trained to intervene when criminal offenses are committed. Except that when a person is the victim of coercive control, there is not always a criminal offense. “But that does not mean that the victim has not experienced violence and that there is no risk,” she notes, because “coercive control is often there before the spousal homicide “.
In short, if police officers are trained to spot the signs of coercive control, they will note them in their reports. With this information, Crown prosecutors will be able, for example, to oppose the release of potentially dangerous accused.
The SPVM also indicates that it follows up with victims of domestic violence: once a month, for at least six months, specifies Commander St-Onge.
Specialized teams
Several police forces in Quebec have created intervention teams specializing in domestic violence.
One of them was set up at the City of Gatineau Police Department, with four specialized investigators, mandated to support victims.
They are not patrol officers, but they may be called upon to go out on the road to meet victims where they are, including in shelters for victims of violence. “So that the legal process is as easy as possible,” explained Nicolas Côté, domestic violence project coordinator at the Gatineau police, interviewed by The duty at the end of February during a working seminar for those who work to protect victims of violence in the Outaouais region.
These investigators receive “more complex” cases, points out Mr. Côté, for example, those in which the violence continued over many years. Given their expertise, investigators are often called upon to obtain statements from suspects, to obtain “solid evidence”.
It is beneficial to have investigators specialized in domestic violence, believes Mr. Côté. “They have greater sensitivity, an understanding of dynamics,” as well as strong connections with support organizations. “Contact with the police remains frightening and stressful. You have to develop a bond of trust. »
In 2022 alone, 1,209 cases of domestic violence with criminal offenses were handled by the police, he deplores. “And it’s been increasing for years. »
Automatic reference
The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) recently signed — last November — what it calls a “referencing letter” for all of Quebec. Concretely, this means that the SQ has put in place a process to immediately direct — at the very moment of police intervention on the scene — the person who is a victim of domestic violence to a shelter, so that they can be safe or again to ensure she receives help without delay.
The goal is that “the person is helped as quickly as possible,” declared Karine Savignac, regional coordinator at the SQ, and member of the Intimate Partner Violence team — West district.
“This puts the hand of the victim in the hand of the worker,” she illustrates.
The police already did it, but the agreement makes the practice systematic on the territory of the SQ, where “pairing” takes place between shelters and police stations. “To surround the victim, to do a little extra, because they often fall into ambivalence. »
Among other initiatives, the SQ has a coordination team for intimate partner violence, which acts as a support unit for patrol officers. The creation of this team stems from the recommendations made in the report Rebuild.