Police should be clearly identified

Montreal streets this fall are expected to be busy with demonstrators, with wellattended anti-austerity marches likely to have the highest profile. So it was timely last week that Quebec ombudsman Raymonde Saint-Germain raised the issue of the proper identification of police, the lack of which was sometimes problematic during the student demonstrations in 2012. There were complaints about undue force from officers who could not be identified.

In her report last week to the National Assembly, Saint-Germain noted that on-duty police officers are required by Quebec’s police code of ethics to always carry identification, but that nothing is specified about how this identification should be displayed. This has sometimes prevented the Police Ethics Commissioner from being able to pursue complaints, she noted. So she has recommended that new regulations be drafted for identification of police.

Indeed, identification should be clearly visible and even uniformly worn on the same place on every officer, no matter his or her duties. Having a clearly visible badge number or, better, the officer’s name clearly displayed, should be mandated in new regulations that Saint-Germain recommends be drafted.

Everybody should be accountable for their actions. This goes for demonstrators, but also for the officers assigned to maintain the peace.