The Parti Quebecois government wants to create an independent body to examine incidents of police violence and possible misconduct.
Public Security minister Stephane Bergeron said on Wednesday that "in the next few weeks" the PQ will announce a permanent civil overseer for police inquiries.
At the moment the ministry requires another police force to take over investigations whenever an officer is involved in a shooting or similar incident. This often results in the Surete du Quebec investigating Montreal police whenever an officer shoots or injures someone -- or vice versa -- and determining if the officer acted correctly.
These instances of police investigating police have been frequently criticized by human rights groups.
Bergeron said he is looking at a new model to assure the credibility of police investigations, with an aim to improve the view the public has of police forces in Quebec.
Liberal public security critic Robert Poeti said he supports the idea.
"Police officers have to follow the rules, respect the law, the chart and everything. So I think having some citizens following police officer investigations is a good thing," he said.
In Ontario and British Columbia civilian oversight boards have been in place for several years.
With a file from The Canadian Press
