Our investigative journalists, Ameli Pineda and Stéphanie Vallet, have carried out meticulous work on the over-representation of Quebec police officers in offenses committed in the context of domestic or sexual violence. The lack of evidence on the phenomenon and the culture of impunity are just as disturbing as the suffering of the victims, because they point to a problem of a systemic nature.
Police officers in solidarity, even in crime, headline The duty. The display of unity that police officers demonstrate when one of their own is criminally accused is revolting. Even when the alleged victim wears the uniform, this pernicious device is set in motion to undermine the credibility or to discourage the complainant. A police officer identified under the pseudonym Marie learned this the hard way, after denouncing her colleague for sexual assault. “I had become the “snitch” of the position,” she said. The one who can no longer be trusted, isolated, targeted by looks of hatred or contempt.
Some of the behavior described borders on witness intimidation, such as a barrage of police officers getting in the way of a victim wishing to speak to their lawyer during a trial. This is the kind of maneuver that we usually expect from members of organized crime, and they will quickly be denounced by the police and officers of the law. The list of disturbing behaviors is growing: police officers defended at the union’s expense for crimes relating to their personal lives, toxic behaviors of domestic violence or coercive control repressed with a slap on the wrist, abusive and illicit uses of police database to spy on an ex-partner, a strange feeling, for the victims, of not being taken seriously.
There is an expression to describe these practices which reek of disparity in treatment. We are in the presence of a culture of police impunity which brings us back to a fundamental societal problem. The institutions of civil society responsible for monitoring the police organization and repressing misconduct are incapable of breaking the foundation of solidarity. In the worst cases, as our investigation reveals, they reinforce it by creating the equivalent of a “patent of innocence” (an expression of the late criminologist Jean-Paul Brodeur) for the guilty police officers.
The guardians of law and order as well as their defenders will tell you that this portrait is unfair and reductive. The majority of them carry out their work admirably, in an increasingly thankless and demanding context, at the risk of their mental health. Their lawyers and their union representatives will tell you that they form the only profession where an individual can be brought to criminal justice, to civil justice, to police ethics or to internal discipline for actions committed in the exercise of his duties or in their private life, if this is likely to affect the bond of trust towards them.
They fail to mention that their role is unique in a society based on the rule of law and respect for civil liberties. Weapon holders and symbols of authority, police officers exercise power that affects nothing less than life and liberty! It is not abnormal to demand exemplary behavior from them, knowing well that no one is perfect. We must at least ensure that the arsenal of defenses available to police officers and the toxic solidarity of the group do not unduly hinder the march towards justice and fair treatment.
Yes, that’s a big order. To achieve this, the first step is to admit that these are not isolated and anecdotal news items. Our investigation has a systemic dimension, to the extent that the proportion of police officers accused of crimes committed in the context of domestic or sexual violence is twice as high as in the general population. It is an indicator of distress very possibly linked to the hazards of the profession, but this in no way excuses the trivialization of crimes. Police organizations should at the very least seize the opportunity to strengthen both their programs to support police officers in distress and to prevent misconduct.
Police organizations and the Ministry of Public Security do not even bother to collect statistics on this subject. This void was denounced by the opposition parties in the National Assembly the day after our investigation. The Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, refuses to comment. As Liberal Party public safety spokesperson Jennifer Maccarone pointed out, ignoring or denying a problem does nothing to help resolve it.
Minister Bonnardel perhaps needs time to form an idea, but he will not be able to avoid this problem. This is a question of a precious and fragile asset: the public’s bond of trust in the police.