As a democratic society, Québec promotes the involvement of citizens in important matters of the State, of which police ethics is a part. The police ethics process is generally only triggered if a person files a complaint. The purpose of processing and resolving a police ethics complaint is not to punish, but to avoid the repetition of conduct that is detrimental to the proper functioning, credibility and integrity of law enforcement.

The Commissaire à la déontologie policière contributes to maintaining public confidence in its police officers and peace officers and to developing, within police services and organizations employing peace officers, high standards of service and of professionalism.