Reinforcements at UPAC | Return of 18 seasoned investigators in the field

The Commissioner of the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) will suddenly hire 18 retired police veterans, seasoned investigators who agree to take over and return to the field to try to redress the bar of an organization who has known more than his fair share of failures in recent years.

Vincent Larouche
Press

These reinforcements will form the first contingent of police-investigators directly engaged by the UPAC, thanks to the new powers granted to it by the government of the Coalition Avenir Québec. In the past, the organization only functioned with police officers loaned by other police forces. Some were experienced, some were not. Their turnover rate was extremely high, with an average stay of just over three years.

“Now, we will be able to hire people who already have on their CV investigative experience in complex cases,” said Commissioner Frédéric Gaudreau on Tuesday, who drew up the annual report of his organization.

Some of the veterans recruited are big names in investigative matters, who have had long careers in various law enforcement organizations. They have won court victories in big lawsuits. Several young people who are starting out in the trade already consider them as mentors, confirms Mr. Gaudreau, without naming them.

A former Major Crimes Commander

Several sources confirmed to Press that Vincent Rozon, former commander of the Major Crimes section of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), will make the jump to UPAC. Mr. Rozon headed homicide investigators in the Quebec metropolis, one of the most prestigious positions in the police community. Retired from the SPVM, he had become a police inspector in Mirabel and an investigative instructor at the National Police Academy.

Mr. Rozon declined to comment on Tuesday, but reportedly broke the news to several of his colleagues, according to our sources.

Pascal Desgagnés, a deputy director of the Mirabel police force who has had a 30-year career in the Lévis police force, part of which in a mixed squad to fight against criminal bikers, is also among those who return as investigators at UPAC.

This is also the case for François Coiteux, a retired Montreal detective sergeant who received the Medal of Honor from Canadian banks for his contribution in the fight against financial crime, as well as another police officer who is illustrated in the investigations of fraud and hate crimes at the SPVM, according to our sources.

The recent failure of the trial of the former mayor of Terrebonne has put UPAC back in the spotlight. In previous years, there had already been the mess of the arrest of MP Guy Ouellette, the closure of major investigations even before the charges were laid, the repeated leaks in the media, the failure of the trials of Nathalie Normandeau, Marc-Yvan Côté, Frank Zampino and many others.

“I am aware of the impatience of Quebecers who wonder about UPAC, its mission and its ability to operate,” said Frédéric Gaudreau in front of the cameras Tuesday.

The bite survey still active

He says he is determined to fulfill his mission. In particular in the file of the Mâchurer investigation on the financing of the Liberal Party of Quebec at the time of Jean Charest, a file which has dragged on for years.

“It is an investigation which is still ongoing, which is extremely complex. We are working on it, we are putting the necessary resources and we are working in partnership with the prosecutors of the DPCP, ”he said.

The numerous information leaks in the media on the progress of this investigation have complicated the work of the police, according to him. “The challenge of a file like this which has been almost entirely disclosed in the public domain – there is even a book that has been written on this investigation – makes our work more complex. There is work that must be done in the shadows to avoid certain issues, ”says the Commissioner.

Frédéric Gaudreau also notes that several large-scale investigations carried out by several police forces across Canada have collapsed in court in recent years, and believes that the government will eventually have to reflect on the burden imposed on investigators and prosecutors in court.

“We are dealing with people who have a lot of resources, who are ready to go very far in legal proceedings with the aim that the case does not go to trial and that the evidence is not heard,” remark- he does.

With the collaboration of Daniel Renaud, Press