outdated laws delay digital investigations, quebec police chiefs say
the quebec association of police directors also defended the use of random traffic stops as quebec challenges a ruling outlawing them.
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“everything that has to do with evidence management and investigation deadlines needs to be reviewed,” says laval police chief pierre brochet.
pierre obendrauf
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montreal gazette files
fraud and corruption cases in quebec are growing increasingly complex through the use of technology and attempts to exploit legal loopholes, police and anticorruption authorities warned on monday.
in response, an association representing police chiefs across the province is repeating its calls to modernize the laws surrounding corruption cases.
“we need a better legislative framework that is adjusted to our realities,” said didier deramond, director general of the quebec association of police chiefs.
flanked by a dozen police chiefs and anticorruption units, deramond was speaking at a news conference organized to highlight the work done to root out corruption in the province.
stressing the need for the federal government to review the legal framework, deramond said the administrative burden police face and the delays in which they must operate often “paralyze the investigative work being done.”
laval police chief pierre brochet, the group’s president, explained that corruption has evolved through the years to include more elements of cybercrime, which requires longer, more complex investigations.
brochet gave the example of an investigation in which, years ago, police officers would have seized suitcases of documents to sift through. now officers will seize dozens of cellphones or computers instead, he said, each including “enormous amounts of data” that need to be analyzed to determine what can be admissible in court.
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more concretely, he pointed to the massive desjardins data breach case, which took more than five years for charges to be laid after nearly 10 million customers allegedly had their data stolen.
“everything that has to do with evidence management and investigation deadlines needs to be reviewed,” brochet said, mentioning the 2016 decision known as the jordan ruling, which stipulates people must be tried within reasonable delay.
“we understand and respect constitutional laws, but i think we’re at a stage now where we have to look at how the framework can be improved,” he added.
as part of the news conference, quebec’s anti-corruption commissioner released its latest statistics on whistle-blowing. since sept. 30, it’s received 278 reports of misconduct, compared to 450 complaints last year.
police chiefs defend random traffic stops as government challenges ruling
the group also welcomed the quebec government’s announcement last week that it will seek to have the supreme court of canada hear an appeal of a landmark ruling barring random police traffic stops.
in an interview, brochet argued the random stops remain an essential tool for officers and removing them could have disastrous effects.
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“there would automatically be repercussions on the number of fatal accidents or accidents causing serious injuries,” brochet said.
in october, quebec’s court of appeal upheld a landmark 2022 decision that declared inoperative an article of the province’s highway safety code, known as article 636, that allows police to stop drivers without reasonable suspicion of an offence.
despite the courts finding random traffic stops can lead to racial profiling, justice minister simon jolin-barrette announced thursday the quebec government is now seeking leave to appeal the decision with the country’s highest court.
“obviously, the stops need to be done without discrimination — we all understand that, and understand the issue of racial profiling and the need to address biases,” brochet said on monday. “but article 636 is too important to let fall aside.”
brochet pointed to statistics compiled by the group last year showing that, depending on the police force, random traffic stops accounted for up to 80 per cent of impaired driving arrests.
across certain police departments in 2022, the group found random traffic stops led 3,500 tickets for driving without a licence, 1,064 drivers arrested for impaired driving and another 1,581 caught driving an unregistered car.
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“there’s an element that’s fundamental to criminology, and that’s the fear of being caught,” brochet said. “if we remove (random traffic stops), slowly, people who drive while impaired won’t have that fear anymore.”
reacting to quebec’s decision last week, the canadian civil liberties association, which intervened in the case, described the court of appeal ruling as a “major victory” for equality rights in canada and said it is ready to defend it.
“no driver, anywhere in canada, should be subject to useless, abusive, and discriminatory stops on the basis of race,” the association said.
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