Community policing is showing positive results, Quebec police directors say

The association of Quebec police directors (ADPQ) says the “community policing” approach it adopted a few years is paying dividends.

The ADPQ highlighted the successes of the initiative at a press conference in Repentigny on Wednesday.

At the heart of the event was a young person named Zack Pare, who said positive interactions with officers changed how they view police.

Pare was seven years old when they had a negative experience with police — a story they didn’t want to go into detail about. But through interacting with Repentigny police at Maison des Jeunes, the now 16-year-old says that fear is gone.

“I actually feel safe, I don’t know, I mean, that’s their job to make me feel safe,” said Pare.

Cst. Peter Daher from the Repentigny Police Service says part of establishing trust with community members is being approachable and easy to talk to.

“I don’t jump into too many questions. I simply have a smile and I start with the ’Hi, how are you doing? My name is Peter. How’s your day going?’”

“I’ve had somebody initially that didn’t want to approach me, didn’t want to answer any questions, but with a bit of like, you have to have that human side of you, and if you do it with passion, the reception is always going to be positive. I believe in that 100 per cent.”

Under the community policing approach, officers participate in local activities and neighbourhood meetings, and collaborate with members of the community – like schools, businesses and community organization. There’s also a strong focus on crime prevention and problem-solving, according to the ADPQ.

In Repentigny, trust between the community and law enforcement is a work in progress. In 2021, 37-year-old Jean René Junior Olivier was shot and killed by police outside his home as he was experiencing a mental health crisis. Officers tried to de-escalate the situation for 14 minutes before Olivier is said to have lunged at them with a knife.

A coroner’s report into Olivier’s death recommended the municipal force train officers to use less lethal weapons, such as rubber bullets.   

“We have to hear those problems to make sure that the police are well-adjusted to react to those problems,” said Didier Deramond, the general director of ADPQ.

The ADPQ took the opportunity Wednesday to launch a new video featuring Pare – the 15th in a capsule series – that depicts positive interactions between young citizens and law enforcement.

Pare says if you’re interacting with police and you’re afraid, the best thing to do is let them know.

“If you’re just really stressed and scared that they’re going to do something that you don’t want, you got to say it, you got to say that ‘I’m sorry, I’m really scared right now, and I don’t know how tp process it, could you please just give me a minute?'”