Montreal police condemn racial profiling

Montreal police do not practise systemic racial profiling in the field, even though "inappropriate behaviour" has been reported, a high-ranking police official testified at a human rights commission hearing this week.

Officers are like every one else human beings inherent prejudices and stereotypes, said Denis Desroches, an assistant director with Montreal police who spoke at the hearing Wednesday.

"We have said really loudly that we condemn racial profiling," he told the commission, gathered in an office building in downtown Montreal. "Most of our police officers are quite good. Are we perfect? Certainly not. But most of the calls we respond [to] quite well."

The public consultation wants to craft new measures to tackle issues around racial profiling. The Human Rights Commission called for the consultation after collecting dozens of stories from Quebecers who said they experienced racial profiling while dealing with authorities.

Montreal has a zero tolerance policy for any form of discrimination, most people respect each other, and "there isn't a problem," said city councillor Marvin Rotrand, who also took part in the hearings.

All employees of the force are required to respect an institutional policy against racial profiling introduced in 2004.

Fighting crime is difficult without targeting specific groups of people, but Montreal officers understand the difference between using criminal profiling techniques and using racial profiling to track down suspects, Desroches said.

Montreal police have several policies in place to minimize racial profiling, including mandatory training, and community liaison officers assigned to local stations.

The hearings continue until Friday. The commission is expected to have its report ready by the end of the year.