Sûreté du Québec
Encyclopedia
Sûreté du Québec or SQ is the provincial police force for the Canadian province
of Québec
. The headquarters of the Sûreté du Québec are located on Parthenais street in Montreal
and the force employs roughly 5,163 officers.
The primary function of the Sûreté du Québec is to enforce provincial laws, some municipal bylaws, the criminal code, and many other laws throughout Quebec and to assist municipal police forces when needed. Members of the force can also act by law as forest conservation agents for example. The Sûreté du Québec is also responsible for providing municipal police
services to municipalities in the province that do not otherwise have municipal or regional police services. By law, that includes municipalities with under 50,000 people. As such, the force is mainly present in small rural and suburban areas. The force also patrols provincial highways. In addition, the Sûreté du Québec can investigate any incident that involves wrong-doing by a municipal police force or a case where a police intervention caused death.
In the early 2000s, the force integrated many smaller police services (e.g., Drummondville and Saint-Hyacinthe
).
municipal police, which were then disbanded, although the city relaunched a municipal force in 1877.
In 1900, two distinct provincial police forces were created: the Office of Provincial Detectives of Montreal
, 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 2 detectives.
In 1925, police officers started patrolling on motorcycles.
SPP
meetings. This admission was made after a video captured by protestors was widely circulated in the Canadian media and made available on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWbgnyUCC7M. Although use of undercover agents at protests of this kind is widespread, the video was especially controversial because it appeared to show one of the officers carrying a rock, suggesting to some the police may have been acting as agents provocateurs
by inciting violence.
The LPRS are currently 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 License Plate Recognition (LPR) to streamline the enforcement of moving and parking violations.
The rank insignia:
Cars:
Trucks:
Motorcycles:
Special Vehicles:
Air:
Sea:
Wild:
Miscellaneous:
Provinces and territories of Canada
The provinces and territories of Canada combine to make up the world's second-largest country by area. There are ten provinces and three territories...
of Québec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. The headquarters of the Sûreté du Québec are located on Parthenais street in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and the force employs roughly 5,163 officers.
The primary function of the Sûreté du Québec is to enforce provincial laws, some municipal bylaws, the criminal code, and many other laws throughout Quebec and to assist municipal police forces when needed. Members of the force can also act by law as forest conservation agents for example. The Sûreté du Québec is also responsible for providing municipal police
Municipal police
.Municipal police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government, including the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive pay from the city budget, and usually have fewer rights than the "state paid" police...
services to municipalities in the province that do not otherwise have municipal or regional police services. By law, that includes municipalities with under 50,000 people. As such, the force is mainly present in small rural and suburban areas. The force also patrols provincial highways. In addition, the Sûreté du Québec can investigate any incident that involves wrong-doing by a municipal police force or a case where a police intervention caused death.
In the early 2000s, the force integrated many smaller police services (e.g., Drummondville and Saint-Hyacinthe
Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec
Saint-Hyacinthe is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 55,823. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérégie region, and is traversed by the Yamaska River which flows...
).
History
On February 1, 1870, the Quebec provincial government created the Police provinciale du Québec under the direction of its first commissioner, Judge Pierre-Antoine Doucet. This new force took over the headquarters of the Quebec CityQuebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
municipal police, which were then disbanded, although the city relaunched a municipal force in 1877.
In 1900, two distinct provincial police forces were created: the Office of Provincial Detectives of Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, 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 2 detectives.
In 1925, police officers started patrolling on motorcycles.
Montebello Incident
The Sûreté du Québec admitted in August 2007 that they had used undercover police posing as protestors at the 2007 MontebelloMontebello, Quebec
Montebello is a municipality located in the Papineau Regional County Municipality of Western Quebec . As of the 2001 census, there were 1,039 permanent residents. The village has a total area of , and is located at the eastern edge of Canada's National Capital Region.The village is world famous for...
SPP
Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America
The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America was a region-level dialogue with the stated purpose of providing greater cooperation on security and economic issues. The Partnership was founded in Waco, Texas on March 23, 2005 by Paul Martin, Prime Minister of Canada, Vicente Fox,...
meetings. This admission was made after a video captured by protestors was widely circulated in the Canadian media and made available on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWbgnyUCC7M. Although use of undercover agents at protests of this kind is widespread, the video was especially controversial because it appeared to show one of the officers carrying a rock, suggesting to some the police may have been acting as agents provocateurs
Agent provocateur
Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act...
by inciting violence.
LPRS: License Plate Recognition System
The Sûreté du Québec has been using the LPRS systems since 2009. The objective of the LPRS is to make the streets and highways more safe by removing vehicles not authorized to be on the road. The hotlist plate database can consist of the following types:- unregistered plate (not paid at DMV / SAAQ)
- Stolen vehicle
- Amber alert
- Wanted Vehicle
The LPRS are currently 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 License Plate Recognition (LPR) to streamline the enforcement of moving and parking violations.
Chiefs and Directors-general
- Pierre-Antoine Doucet (1870–1877)
- Jean-Baptiste Amyot (1877–1878)
- Alexandre ChauveauAlexandre ChauveauAlexandre Chauveau was a lawyer, judge, educator and political figure in Quebec. He represented Rimouski in the Legislative Assembly of Quebec from 1872 to 1880 as both a Conservative member and a Liberal cabinet minister.He was born in Quebec City, the son of Pierre-Joseph-Olivier Chauveau and...
(1880–1899) - Augustin McCarthy (1902–1932)
- Dieudonné Daniel Lorrain (1922–1928)
- Maurice-Charles Lalonde (1929–1936)
- Philippe Aubé (1936–1937)
- Philippe-Auguste Piuze (1937–1940)
- Marcel Gaboury (1940–1944)
- Joseph-Paul Lamarche (1944–1950)
- Hilaire Beauregard (1954–1960)
- Josaphat Brunet (1960–1965)
- J. Adrien Robert (1965–1968)
- Maurice St-Pierre (1969–1973)
- Paul-A. Benoît (1973–1974)
- Jacques Beaudoin (1974–1988)
- Robert Lavigne (1988–1995)
- Serge Barbeau (1995–1996)
- Guy CoulombeGuy CoulombeGuy Coulombe was a senior public servant in the Canadian province of Quebec. At various times the leader of Hydro-Quebec and the Sûreté du Québec and the general manager of Montreal, Coulombe was described as Quebec's "go-to mandarin on tough issues."-Early life:Coulombe was born to an upper...
(1996–1998) - Florent Gagné (1998–2003)
- Normand Proulx (2004 - June 30, 2008)
- Richard Deschesnes (July 1, 2008 - )
Districts
- Bas-Saint-Laurent-Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine
- Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean
- Capitale-Nationale-Chaudière-Appalaches
- Mauricie-Centre-du-Québec
- Estrie
- Montréal-Laval-Laurentides-Lanaudière
- Outaouais
- Abitibi-Témiscamingue-Nord-du-Québec
- Côte-Nord
- Montérégie
Rank badges
Rank insignia of the Sûreté du Québec are on contained on "slip on" sleeves worn on the epaulettes of uniform jacket or shirt shoulders.The rank insignia:
| Rank | Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent.... |
Lieutenant Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank... |
Captain Police captain - France :France uses the rank of capitaine for management duties in both uniformed and plain-clothed policing. The rank comes senior to lieutenant and junior to commandant.... |
Inspector Inspector Inspector is both a police rank and an administrative position, both used in a number of contexts. However, it is not an equivalent rank in each police force.- Australia :... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insignia | ||||
| Rank | Chief Inspector Chief inspector Chief inspector is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police .-Australia:... |
Deputy Director | Director General of the SQ | |
| Insignia | ||||
Fleet
Cars:
- Ford Police Interceptor
- Chevrolet ImpalaChevrolet ImpalaThe Chevrolet Impala is a full-size automobile built by the Chevrolet division of General Motors introduced for the 1958 model year. Deriving its name from the southern African antelope, Chevrolet's most expensive passenger model through 1965 had become the best-selling automobile in the United...
- Dodge Charger (LX)Dodge Charger (LX)The Dodge Charger LX is a rear-wheel drive four-door automobile introduced in February 2005. Built by Chrysler for its North American Dodge brand, the car was created to continue the Dodge Charger line, and replaced the Dodge Intrepid as Dodge's full-size sedan...
- Chevrolet CapriceChevrolet CapriceThe Chevrolet Caprice is a full-sized automobile produced by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors in North America for the 1965 through 1996 model years. Full-size Chevrolet sales peaked in 1965 with over a million sold. It was the most popular American car in the sixties and early seventies....
- retired - Plymouth FuryPlymouth FuryThe Plymouth Fury is an automobile which was produced by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1956 to 1978. The Fury was introduced as a premium-priced model designed to showcase the line, with the intent to draw consumers into showrooms....
- retired - Chevrolet Bel AirChevrolet Bel AirThe Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size automobile that was produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1950–1975 model years. Hardtops in the Chevrolet Deluxe Styleline model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950–1952, but it was not a distinct series of its own until...
- retired - Ford LTD (North America) - retired
Trucks:
- Dodge DakotaDodge DakotaThe Dodge Dakota is a mid-size pickup truck from Chrysler's Ram division. From its introduction through 2009, it was marketed by Dodge. The first Dakota was introduced in 1986 as a 1987 model alongside the redesigned Dodge Ram 50...
- Ford E-250
- Ford F-350
- Ford F-450
- Dodge RamDodge RamThe Dodge Ram is a full-size pickup truck manufactured by the Chrysler Group LLC. As of late 2010, it has been sold under the Ram Trucks brand. Previously, Ram was part of the Dodge lineup of light trucks...
2500 pickup
Motorcycles:
- BMW Police MotorcyclePolice motorcycleA police motorcycle is a motorcycle used by various police forces and departments. They may be custom designed to meet the requirements unique of a particular use. A police motorcycle is often called a "motor" by police officers in the United States...
- Mikado bicycles
Special Vehicles:
- Prevost CarPrevost CarPrevost is a Quebec, Canada-based manufacturer of touring coaches and bus shells for high-end motorhomes and specialty conversions.The company now owns Nova Bus and in turn is owned by Volvo Bus Corporation.- History :...
Command Post - Hummer H1Hummer H1The Hummer H1 is a civilian off-road vehicle based on the M998 Humvee, which was created by AM General. The vehicle was produced from 1992 through 2006, and was the first of what became the Hummer line...
Armoured Truck - InternationalNavistar InternationalNavistar International Corporation is a United States-based holding company that owns the manufacturer of International brand commercial trucks, MaxxForce brand diesel engines, IC Bus school and commercial buses, Workhorse brand chassis for motor homes and step vans, and is a private label...
7500 support vehicle - APCArmoured personnel carrierAn armoured personnel carrier is an armoured fighting vehicle designed to transport infantry to the battlefield.APCs are usually armed with only a machine gun although variants carry recoilless rifles, anti-tank guided missiles , or mortars...
Air:
- Bell 206Bell 206The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- or twin-engine helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter program, the 206 failed to be selected...
- Bell 206Bell 206The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- or twin-engine helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter program, the 206 failed to be selected...
LT - Bell 412Bell 412The Bell 412 is a utility helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It is a development of the Bell 212 model, the major difference being the composite four-blade main rotor.-Design and development:...
Sea:
- Doral Patrol BoatPatrol boatA patrol boat is a relatively small naval vessel generally designed for coastal defense duties.There have been many designs for patrol boats. They may be operated by a nation's navy, coast guard, or police force, and may be intended for marine and/or estuarine or river environments...
- Bombardier Sea-doo
Wild:
- Bombardier Ski-dooSki-DooSki-Doo is a brand name of snowmobile fabricated by Bombardier Recreational Products. The first Ski-Doo was launched in 1959. It was a new invention Joseph-Armand Bombardier...
SnowmobileSnowmobileA snowmobile, also known in some places as a snowmachine, or sled,is a land vehicle for winter travel on snow. Designed to be operated on snow and ice, they require no road or trail. Design variations enable some machines to operate in deep snow or forests; most are used on open terrain, including... - GrizzlyYamaha Grizzly 600The Yamaha Grizzly is a large utility all-terrain vehicle manufactured by the Yamaha Motor Company. It has a 595cc four-stroke engine from the XT600...
ATVAll-terrain vehicleAn all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...
Miscellaneous:
- Golf cart
- Street sweeperStreet sweeperA street sweeper or street cleaner can refer to a person's occupation or a machine that cleans streets, usually in an urban area.-History of street sweeping in the United States:...
See also
- PolicePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
- SûretéSûretéSûreté is a term used in French speaking countries or regions in the organizational title of a civil police force, especially the detective branch thereof.-France:...
- Service de police de la Ville de MontréalService de police de la Ville de MontréalThe Service de police de la Ville de Montréal is the police force for the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. With about 4,400 officers and 1,600 civilian staff, it is the second largest municipal police agency in Canada after the Toronto Police Service and second largest in the province behind the...
- State policeState policeState police are a type of sub-national territorial police force, particularly in Australia and the United States. Some other countries have analogous police forces, such as the provincial police in some Canadian provinces, while in other places, the same responsibilities are held by national...
- Ontario Provincial PoliceOntario Provincial PoliceThe Ontario Provincial Police is the Provincial Police service for the province of Ontario, Canada.-Overview:The OPP is the the largest deployed police force in Ontario, and the second largest in Canada. The service is responsible for providing policing services throughout the province in areas...
- Royal Newfoundland ConstabularyRoyal Newfoundland ConstabularyThe Royal Newfoundland Constabulary is a police force in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It provides policing to the communities of St. John's and the Northeast Avalon Peninsula, Corner Brook, Churchill Falls, and Labrador City....
- Newfoundland RangersNewfoundland RangersThe Newfoundland Ranger Force is a defunct police force of the pre-confederation Dominion of Newfoundland, which provided law enforcement and other government services to outports. It existed from 1935 to 1950, at which point it was merged into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police...
- Royal Canadian Mounted PoliceRoyal Canadian Mounted PoliceThe Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...