Merge small forces with SQ, report suggests
Quebec should significantly shrink its number of police forces by merging them or integrating them into the provincial Sûreté du Québec to improve services for all citizens.
That was the key recommendation outlined in a 51-page report created by the Sûreté du Québec and presented to a commission studying police reform in the province.
The provincial committee was formed last December after a series of issues roiled several of the province's forces, including the SQ, spurring calls for an overhaul.
Saying the public's confidence was shaken, the Coalition Avenir Québec government released a green paper on the state of the Quebec police at the same time.
Other priorities outlined in the SQ'S report include a better sharing among police forces of information related to organized crime, more collaboration with healthcare workers on police calls related to mental health crises, and better access to psychological support for police officers in need. The SQ also said more emphasis has to be put into integrating people from diverse backgrounds — at present, only two per cent of the SQ'S 5,388 officers are from cultural communities.
In an overview presented by Sûreté du Québec interim director-general Johanne Beausoleil Thursday to a few members of Quebec's print media, she suggested citizens could be better served with as few as seven forces by merging smaller police forces in the same region together or by folding them into the SQ. It's an ongoing process — in 1991, Quebec had 163 separate forces. Now it's down to 31 (not including the 22 First Nations' forces that cover 44 native communities). While police forces responsible for more far-flung regions like Trois-rivières, Saguenay and Sherbrooke could be maintained, a region like the North Shore of Montreal that has several forces serving separate municipalities could possibly be merged to make one large regional force, she said.
“What we suggest is to group the forces as much as possible to be efficient, instead of being small and independent of one another,” Beausoleil said. “The more we merge them or integrate them into the SQ, the more we give them the means to better respond to calls, and to have the financial support necessary.”
Smaller municipalities could benefit from the resources available from a police service like the SQ with nearly 8,000 police and civilian staff and 150 years of experience, Beausoleil said.
“When your police force has 40 officers and you fall into something like COVID-19, they don't have all the necessary resources,” she said.
She stressed that the decision lies in the hands of elected officials of each municipality and discounted suggestions the SQ was seeking to create one “monster force.” Many municipalities have been hesitant to give up their forces, saying they feel they get better service from local officers as opposed to SQ police stationed far outside of town.
The SQ is suggesting Quebec's policing map be divided into three “service levels,” with the SQ responsible for matters related to provincial security, Montreal and Quebec City police forces placed in a separate “large cities” level, and all other forces considered in a third level, with corresponding competencies in the kinds of investigations they can carry out. Montreal and Quebec City would still be responsible for investigating murders on their territory.
The SQ suggested it be given full responsibility for certain activities, including co-ordinating investigations of the sexual exploitation of children on the internet, the management of informants, large-scale financial crimes and the co-ordination of SWAT teams.
Other priorities included expanding the SQ'S cultural diversity by enticing more candidates from diverse backgrounds applying to police technical programs, and recognizing diverse experiences as a criteria for hiring, as opposed to just marks. Hiring practices must be loosened to allow people with non-police background degrees to enter the force to aid in specialized domains like financial crimes, internet fraud and computer hacking.
The report also called for a special mixed squad to be established to look into cases where police officers are charged with a criminal offence. Under the current system, officers are often suspended from active duty and can wait years for an investigation by the provincial criminal investigation department to finish, resulting in undue harm to those found innocent.
The recommendation, she said, is not linked to the case of Martin Prud'homme, the former head of the SQ who was suspended last year pending an investigation of accusations of a criminal nature. In November 2019, Prud'homme appealed that decision in Quebec Superior Court, accusing the government of political interference. Beausoleil was named as his interim replacement last September, the first time in the force's history a woman is at the helm.
The provincial committee is scheduled to submit its report this spring.