In our society, the role of police officers is to maintain peace, order and safety. To fulfill these functions, they have broad powers. But they also have duties and responsibilities. Police officers must follow special rules of conduct while on the job. The rules that apply in Quebec are found in the Code of ethics of Québec police officers. When a police officer doesn’t respect their code of ethics, it’s possible to file a complaint.
What are a police officer’s duties?
Police officers perform several duties, including these:
- maintain peace, order and public safety,
- prevent crime,
- find and arrest criminals,
- conduct criminal investigations,
- ensure that the law is obeyed.
Who must follow the code of ethics?
The Code of ethics of Québec police officers applies to members of certain police forces while they’re fulfilling their duties. Here are some examples:
- Quebec’s provincial police force, the Sûreté du Québec .
- Municipal police forces that serve specific municipalities like Montreal or Quebec City.
- Police forces established by Indigenous communities, sometimes called “Peacekeepers”.
Specialized police forces must also follow this code of ethics. An example of a specialized police force is Quebec’s office of independent investigations, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes.
However, members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) as well as security guards employed by private firms, among others, are not covered by the Code of ethics of Québec police officers.
Does the code of ethics forbid police officers from insulting people?
Yes. Police officers must behave in a way that maintains the public’s confidence and respect. They must not do these things:
- Use obscene, blasphemous or insulting language (swearing, insults, etc.).
- Act or make negative statements based on race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, religion, political convictions, language, age, social condition, disability, etc.
- Treat a person impolitely or without respect.
- Forget or refuse to identify themselves with an official document when asked.
- Forget to wear the identification required by law (a badge, symbol, uniform, etc.).
- Abuse their authority when dealing with the public (threats, harassment, unnecessary force, etc.).
- Disobey the law (for example, illegal arrest or detention).
Do police officers on duty who abuse their authority violate the Code of ethics?
Yes. For example, a police officer arrests and detains someone knowing that the person didn’t commit a crime. This is an abuse of authority.
To avoid abuse of authority, the code of ethics forbids police officers from doing these things:
- Use more force than is necessary,
- Threaten, intimidate or harass people,
- Intentionally accuse someone without good reason,
- Act or speak improperly to obtain a statement or admission,
- Detain people, who are not under arrest, to interrogate them.
There are many other forbidden acts related to investigations, handling firearms, detention, searches, etc. To learn more, consult the Code of ethics of Québec police officers.
What can I do if a police officer violated the code of ethics?
A police officer may have to answer for their actions following a complaint or a report. A complaint is made by someone who was a victim or witness of misconduct, while a report can be made by anyone else.
The complaint must be submitted in writing to the Police Ethics Commissioner or at any police station. You must do this within a year of the event in question, or within a year of learning of the event.
If asked, the staff members at the office of the Commissioner must help the complainant prepare the complaint and prove it.
The Commissioner receives the complaint, examines it and tries to get the people involved to solve the problem.
Where necessary, the Commissioner will investigate and may ask the police officer to appear before Quebec’s police ethics court at the date and time chosen by the court. The French name for Quebec’s police ethics court is the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière.
The Police Ethics Commissioner’s services are free.
What kinds of complaints are handled by the Commissioner?
A complaint must meet these requirements:
- be in writing,
- be submitted within the time limit (one year),
- deal with a police officer on duty,
- allege a violation of the Code of ethics of Québec police officers.
At this stage, the Commissioner must decide whether to:
- reject the complaint,
- appoint a conciliator,
- refer the case to the appropriate police criminal investigations unit,
- order an investigation to determine if the officer should be brought before the Tribunal.
The Commissioner can reject the complaint, for example, if the complainant refuses to cooperate without a valid reason.
If the Commissioner refuses to investigate, the complainant can ask them to review this decision, after submitting new facts. The complainant has 15 days after receiving the decision to ask for a revision.
What is conciliation?
The goal of conciliation is to resolve the complaint against the police officer through an agreement between both parties.
Conciliation is not mandatory for the complainant. They can refuse the process but must inform the Police Ethics Commissioner in writing within 30 days of filing the complaint and explain their reasons.
During conciliation, the complainant, the police officer and a conciliator meet. The conciliator cannot be a police officer, or a former police officer. The conciliator must have completed mandatory training on racism and discrimination.
Complaints about serious acts, such as causing serious injury or death, don’t go to conciliation. These complaints are instead investigated by Quebec’s office of independent investigations, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes.
The goal of conciliation is to find a solution that satisfies both the complainant and the police officer. They are asked to express their points of view freely. The complainant and the police officer can each be accompanied by a person they choose. That person may be a lawyer. The lawyer can intervene, but the conciliator usually prefers to have the complainant and the police officer speak for themselves.
If they reach an agreement, the complaint is resolved. The agreement must be written, approved by the Commissioner, and signed by both the complainant and the officer involved.
If conciliation fails, the conciliator returns the case to the Commissioner for an investigation.
Can statements made by a police officer or a complainant during conciliation be used later?
No. Statements made during conciliation, whether by the complainant or the officer, can’t be used later as evidence in criminal, civil or administrative cases.
What happens when the Commissioner investigates a complaint?
In general, the Police Ethics Commissioner only investigates complaints that haven’t been rejected and that were not resolved through conciliation.
If the Commissioner decides to investigate, an investigator is chosen. The purpose of the investigation is to see if there is enough evidence to have a hearing before Quebec’s police ethics court, the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière. The police officer and the complainant are notified of the progress of the investigation.
The investigator’s findings are submitted to the Commissioner in an investigation report.
If the investigation report reveals that the complaint was justified, the Commissioner may ask the police officer to appear in court to answer to the complaint. Even if the police officer doesn’t show up, the court will be able to hear the case.
If the investigation report states that the complaint isn’t justified, the complaint is rejected. The Commissioner informs the director of the police force and the complainant of the decision. The Commissioner explains why the complaint was rejected and sends them a summary of the investigation report. The Commissioner also tells the complainant of the right to have the decision revised by the Tribunal.
Finally, the Commissioner can send the investigation report to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (“the prosecutor”) asking to formally accuse the police officer of a crime.
What happens if the police officer must appear in court?
Quebec has a special court that decides whether a police officer has violated the code of ethics. Its French name is the Tribunal administratif de déontologie policière. The court is made up of lawyers named as full-time members by the government, for a maximum of five years.
When the Police Ethics Commissioner’s investigation finds that a police officer acted improperly, they ask this court to hold a hearing to decide if the finding is justified. The Tribunal is made up of lawyers who have been admitted to the Quebec Bar for at least 10 years.
The dispute at the hearing is between the Commissioner and the police officer. The person who filed the complaint is just a witness.
The Commissioner makes their case against the police officer. Then, the Tribunal must let the police officer presents their defense.
The Commissioner and the police officer can also call witnesses to testify on matters relating to the case.
After considering the evidence, the Tribunal decides whether the police officer violated the Code of ethics of Québec police officers. The Tribunal’s final decision can be appealed to the Court of Québec. In this situation, permission to appeal will be required.
Usually, anyone can attend these hearings because they are public. However, the court could order that the case takes place behind closed doors. In this case, the public won’t have access to the courtroom.
What action can be taken against a police officer who violated the Code of ethics?
When the Administrative Tribunal of Police Ethics (the Tribunal) decides that a police officer disobeyed the Code of ethics, it can give the officer one of these penalties:
- a reprimand,
- a suspension without pay for up to 60 working days,
- a demotion,
- firing.
For example, an officer who hits a citizen in the face after being insulted could be suspended without pay for 15 days.
In addition to being suspended, the Tribunal could ask the police officer to complete training.
If the police officer was already fired, quit or retired when the penalty is given, the Tribunal can prevent them from being a peace officer for up to 5 years.
When can there be an independent investigation?
If someone dies, is seriously injured or is injured by a firearm during a police action or arrest, an independent investigation is held. Quebec’s office of independent investigations, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes, conducts the investigation and not the Police Ethics Commissioner.
The Bureau also investigates complaints of a police officer committing a crime of a sexual nature while on duty.
The members of the Bureau can’t be active police officers. Also, the Bureau’s director is someone who was never a police officer. But the investigators can be retired police officers.
At the end of the investigation, the Bureau must send a report to the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions who decides whether to formally accuse the police officer of a crime. It’s important to keep in mind that the Bureau must also follow the Code of ethics of Québec police officers. This means that someone could make a complaint to the Police Ethics Commissioner if a problem arises.