Policy on Street Checks

On July 8, 2020, the SPVM published its Policy on Street Checks, a first in Québec. This policy establishes clear guidelines to prevent any unfounded or random street checks.

For the first time, a policy has been introduced formally stating that all street checks must be based on observable facts and not discriminatory factors, in other words in relation to actual or perceived ethnocultural identity, religion, gender, identity, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status.

This policy is the result of 160 external consultations, in particular with members of different ethnocultural communities, community support organizations and citizen concertation tables.

In addition, as the policy is not an end in itself in the fight against systemic racism, it is accompanied by a series of related measures. For example, a team of street check coaches will ensure police officers adopt the policy, and data on street checks will be collected and processed electronically to contextualize and understand practices. 

Moreover, the SPVM is supported by the sociologist, Frédéric Boisrond, and a second mandate has been awarded to the independent researchers who presented their report on street checks in October 2019.

The Policy on Street Checks will be scalable and the SPVM will reassess the arrangements by accounting for all information available to it, comments received by its partners and repercussions in the field.

Before the Policy took effect, the SPVM held several information workshops for all police officers to prepare them for application of the Policy.