Crimes and Tickets

Rules of Conduct for the Police

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The police are responsible for keeping the public safe and preventing crime. They have important powers, but they must also follow rules of conduct. These rules are found in the Code of Ethics of Québec Police Officers.

A police car is parked in Montreal.

The article in short

  • The police have important powers, but they must also follow rules.
  • The police must follow the rules of conduct found in their Code of Ethics.
  • You have options if you believe the police have abused their powers or failed to follow the rules of conduct.

What rules of conduct must the police follow?

The police must act in a way that maintains the public’s trust and respect. For example, a police officer must not:

  • Be disrespectful or impolite to a person. For example, they must not use vulgar or offensive language, such as swears or insults.
  • Disrespect someone because of a personal characteristic, such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, religion, political beliefs, language, age, social status or a disability.
  • Refuse to identify themselves or show an official document confirming their role as a police officer (like a badge or badge number) when someone asks them to.
  • Not wear identification when interacting with the public, such as a badge, badge number or police uniform.
  • Act illegally. For example, by hiding evidence to harm someone, or by illegally searching or detaining someone.
  • Abuse their authority.

The police must use their powers reasonably and for a good reason. They cannot use their powers inappropriately, without a good reason or in an excessive way. This is called abuse of authority. For example, the police abuse their authority when they:

  • threaten, intimidate or harass someone,
  • use more force than necessary to do their job,
  • Officially accuse someone of a crime without a good reason for doing so.

Who must follow the rules of conduct in the Code of Ethics of Québec Police Officers?

The following police forces must follow the rules of conduct set out in the Code of Ethics of Québec Police Officers:

  • the national police force of Quebec, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ),
  • municipal police forces, such as Montreal’s police force, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), and Quebec City’s police force, the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ),
  • Indigenous community police forces, sometimes called “Peacekeepers”,
  • specialized police forces, such as the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI), which leads investigations in Quebec.

Good to know

Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are not covered by the Code of Ethics of Québec Police Officers. They must follow the RCMP’s code of conduct instead.

What can you do if you think the police didn’t follow the rules?

If you’ve experienced or witnessed a situation where a police officer didn’t follow the rules of conduct, you can make a report of file a complaint with the Police Ethics Commissioner, depending on the circumstance.

The Police Ethics Commissioner is the government body responsible for making sure police officers in Quebec follow the rules of conduct set out in the Code of Ethics of Québec Police Officers.