Quebec police curtail the use of unmarked cars following fatal crash

The Surete du Quebec says it will curtail the use of its so-called ghost cars following a fatal crash a week ago in the Lac St. Jean region.

Three seniors were killed when an SQ car rammed into another car in Dolbeau-Mistassini, about 130 kilometres northwest of the city of Saguenay.

The car driven by the officer was identifiable only with black-on-black lettering, making it difficult to identify as a police cruiser. It was answering an emergency call at the time of the crash.

There are two types of ghost cars – those with white-on-white lettering and those with black-on-black lettering. There are no lights on top of the car, although they can be found on the windshield, so the police officer may turn them on if he wants to be visible from a distance. Otherwise, the car becomes indistinguishable from others in traffic.

They are usually used in roadway operations, such as to intercept speeding cars on the highway.

“Types of infractions that are harder to detect with a conventional police vehicle, such as use of cell phone while driving, use of the right lane for passing, or any other behaviour you wouldn't see people doing in the presence of a police car,” said Lt. Guy Lapointe, spokesperson for the SQ.

The SQ refers to them as monochrome cars, or semi-unmarked cars. Unmarked cars are different: they have no markings and are used in undercover operations.

Last week’s crash, in which early reports suggest the driver didn’t see the low-profile police cruiser, has prompted the SQ to review under which circumstances they send ghost cars to respond to emergency calls.

Lapointe said it will be the responsibility of the person in charge of the shift to determine how many vehicles he has at his disposition that day and how many ghost vehicles will be out on the road.

“An officer driving [a semi-unmarked] vehicle, if an emergency call comes in, if he’s the only one available he’ll be allowed to answer, or if he’s the closest one and there’s an immediate threat to life he’ll be allowed to intervene. In all other cases, interventions will be done by conventional marked police cars,” he explained.

The SQ started employing semi-unmarked cars, which had everything a normal cruiser did except the flashers on top, in 2008. Since then, the trend has shifted toward the monochromatic cars, Lapointe said.

The limited use of ghost cars is a temporary measure. A review is scheduled to be completed the in the fall.