| Sûreté du Québec | |
|---|---|
![Badge of the SQ[1]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aS%25C3%25BBret%25C3%25A9_du_Qu%25C3%25A9bec.svg) | |
![Coat of arms of the SQ[2]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aIv473_20040064_arms_su_sm.jpg) Coat of arms of the SQ[2] | |
 Patch of the SQ | |
 Flag of the SQ | |
| Abbreviation | SQ |
| Motto | Service, Intégrité, Justice Service, Integrity, Justice |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | May 1, 1870 |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction | Quebec, Canada |
| Size | 1,542,056 km2 |
| Population | 8,484,965 |
| Operational structure | |
| Overseen by | Ministry of Public Security of Quebec[3] |
| Headquarters | 1701, rue Parthenais Montreal,Quebec H2K 3S745°31′43″N73°33′09″W / 45.52858750783238°N 73.55259783454248°W /45.52858750783238; -73.55259783454248 |
| Officers | 5,700[4] |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
|
| Districts | 10 |
| Website | |
www | |
TheSûreté du Québec (SQ;French:[syʁtedykebɛk],lit. 'Safety of Quebec') is theprovincial police service for theCanadian province ofQuebec.[6] There is no official English name, though the agency's name is sometimes translated asQuebec Provincial Police (QPP) andQuebec Police Force (QPF) in English-language sources. The headquarters of theSûreté du Québec are located on Parthenais Street inMontreal'sSainte-Marie neighbourhood, and the service employs over 5,700 officers. The SQ is one of three provincial police services in Canada, alongside the largerOntario Provincial Police and smallerRoyal Newfoundland Constabulary, and the third-largestpolice service in Canada (behind theRoyal Canadian Mounted Police and the Ontario Provincial Police).
The primary function of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) is to enforce provincial laws, some municipal bylaws, the federalCriminal Code and many other laws throughout Quebec, and to assist municipal police services when needed.
At the local level, the SQ is responsible for providinglocal police services tomunicipalities that chose not to have their own police department (mostly localities with populations under 50,000), in exchange for payment relative to their size. In other cities, the Sûreté du Québec can also take over criminal investigations from municipal police services when required by thePolice Act of the province, according to the severity of the crime and the size of the population (e.g., the SQ will take in charge any homicide with no imminent arrests in a city of less than 250,000, even if it has its own police department).[7] The SQ is usually present in smaller, rural or suburban communities, and it is not usually visible on the streets of large urban centres likeMontreal andQuebec City, whose own police departments must provide a wide range of services and operations by law. In those cities, however, the SQ still has large offices where various investigations are conducted.
At the provincial level, the SQ is responsible for actions such as patrolling thehighways of Quebec, preserving the integrity of governmental institutions, coordinating large-scale investigations (such as during thebiker war in the 1990s), and maintaining and sharing thecriminal intelligence database of Quebec with other services.[8] In addition, the SQ can providetechnical assistance to Quebec's independent investigation unit (BEI) in any incident involving possible wrongdoing by another police department, such asdeaths and serious injuries. Should the SQ be involved in such an incident, assistance (if needed) will be provided either by the police serviceof Montreal orof Quebec City.[9]
On February 1, 1870, the Quebec provincial government created thePolice provinciale du Québec[10] under the direction of its first commissioner, Judge Pierre-Antoine Doucet. This new service took over the headquarters of theQuebec City municipal police, which were then disbanded, although the city relaunched a municipal service in 1877.
In 1900, two distinct provincial police services were created: the Office of Provincial Detectives ofMontreal, in response to a crime wave in that city, and the Revenue Police, whose mission was to collect taxes. In 1902, the government decided that the provincial police should no longer be directed by a judge but by an officer of the police themselves. Augustin McCarthy was chosen as the first chief drawn from the ranks of the police.
In 1922, two headquarters were established, one in Quebec City, headed by McCarthy, and one in Montreal, headed by Dieudonné Daniel Lorrain. The Office of Provincial Detectives of Montreal became part of the general provincial police in that year. The Quebec division included 35 police officers and two detectives.In 1925, police officers started patrolling on motorcycles. In 1929 and 1930, the structure of the service was reformed and the agency adopted a new name as Sûreté provinciale du Québec which was later shortened to its present name.[11]
A significant local, provincial, national andFirst Nations crisis erupted in 1990 after SQ officers attempted to enforce a court order on theMohawks ofOka, Quebec. SQ Corporal Marcel Lemay was killed by gunfire in the initial raid (likely by friendly fire[citation needed]), and a 77-day standoff ensued.
The Sûreté du Québec admitted in August 2007 that they had used undercover police posing as protestors at the 2007MontebelloSecurity and Prosperity Partnership of North America meetings. This admission[12] was made after a video captured by protestors was widely circulated in the Canadian media and made available onYouTube.[13] The video appeared to show one of the officers carrying a rock, suggesting that the police may have been acting asinciting agents by inciting violence.[14]
Rank insignia of the Sûreté du Québec are contained on slip-on sleeves, worn on the epaulettes of uniform jacket or shirt shoulders.
Constables (Agent) do not have any insignia on their uniform. The SQ formerly had the rank ofCorporal above Constable rank. Team leaders have an epaulette with the wordsChef d'équipe.
| Ranks of Sûreté du Québec[16][17] | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General staff officers | Officers | Sub-Officers | Agents | |||||
| Directeur general | Directeur adjoint | Inspecteur chef | Inspecteur | Capitaine | Lieutenant | Sergent | Chef d'equipe | Constable |
| Director general of the SQ | Associate director | Chief Inspector | Inspector | Captain | Sergeant | Team Leader | ||
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | No insignia |
Early uniforms were British in origin, including the use of thecustodian helmet, with thekepi later added as well.[18] The service adopted a uniform with a more distinct green tone, as well as apeaked cap, in the 1960s.[19]
The emblem of the service changed in the 1970s, when the old provincial coat of arms gave way to the fleur-de-lis.
In late 2016, Martin Prud'Homme, Director General of the SQ, announced the uniforms would be changed. Shirts and coats will be of a darker shade ofolive green; patches, caps, and bulletproof vests will become black, and pants blue-black. One of the justifications for the changes was that the old green uniform was too similar to that of a soldier's.[20]
Beginning progressively in 2017, marked patrol cars are set to become black with white doors, on which the word "POLICE" will be more evident.[21]
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Cars:
Trucks:
Motorcycles:
Special Vehicles:
Air:
Sea:
Wild:
The standard-issue weapon of the SQ are theGlock series of pistols, specifically the ones chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum. Various models have been adopted, such as the usualGlock 17 Gen 3, the compactGlock 19, and sub-compactGlock 26. Tactical officers have used the C8CQB rifle, a variant of theColt Canada C8 rifle.
Prior to introduction of Glock pistols, officers carried.357 Magnum revolvers. These were replaced with the Glock 17 in 2001.[23]
The SQ has been using theLPRS systems since 2009. The objective of the LPRS is to make the streets and highways safer by removing vehicles not authorized to be on the road. The hotlist plate database can consist of the following types:
The LPRS are installed on 10 Sûreté du Québec vehicles. The LPRS integrator is Gtechna. Gtechna is primarily a citations issuance and management software developer which integrates mission critical technologies such as Licence Plate Recognition (LPR) to streamline the enforcement of moving and parking violations.
The Sûreté du Québec has become well known internationally through the fictionalChief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues, created by Canadian authorLouise Penny, who lives in Quebec. Penny's works have been recognized in Quebec by her being made a Member of theOrder of Quebec.[24]
TheThree Pines series on Amazon Prime Video, inspired by the books, also includes characters who are police officers with the Sûreté du Québec, including Gamache.[25]
Corps de police national qui agit sous l'autorité du ministre de la Sécurité publique
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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