Regina cop facing charge after allegedly searching database ‘without a valid work purpose’

A Regina police officer is facing a charge under privacy legislation after allegedly using a police database to search for information on an ex, along with their family and friends.

According to the Regina Police Service, an investigation into the alleged actions of Clinton Duquette was launched in 2024. Police said the investigation revealed that Duquette “improperly accessed” the internal police database multiple times between 2021 and 2023.

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“The officer used the database to search the complainant, as well as members of their family and friends, without a valid work purpose,” the police force said in a statement.

Duquette, who has been a constable on the force for 10 years, has already been suspended without pay and was required to participate in police ethics and privacy training. The Regina Police Service added that he will be “subject to ongoing random audits for a minimum of two years.”

The police force said it reported the privacy breach to Saskatchewan’s information and privacy commissioner, who made several recommendations, including forwarding the matter to Saskatchewan’s attorney general for potential prosecution.

On Thursday, Duquette was formally charged. The police force noted that the charge is not criminal, but if he’s convicted the officer “will be subject to a fine of not more than $50,000 or to imprisonment for not more than one year.”

Duquette is expected to appear in Regina Provincial Court on June 15 to answer the charge.

Lorilee Davies, Regina’s police chief, said she accepts the attorney general’s direction in the case.

“We are committed to making meaningful improvements to our processes and oversight and to be more reflective of the expectations of the public when it comes to police accountability,” Davies said in a statement.

“This outcome sends a strong message not only to our employees but to the entire community when it comes to privacy.”

In February, Robert Semenchuk, a former sergeant with the Regina Police Service, was sentenced after snooping on 33 victims using police databases.

Semenchuk, who had spent 22 years as a cop, was handed a two-year community sentence, with the first six months to be served under house arrest, followed by three years of probation.

“When someone breaches our privacy policy, disregards their oath of office, bypasses all of our training and security measures we have in place in such an egregious manner, it calls into question the ethics and accountability of all of our members,” Davies said at the time.

“It’s awful that this happened under our watch, that he was a member of our police service, that he took advantage of our systems, took advantage of what he knew he could get away with, essentially, so, for me, that’s awful that that happened here. But I can’t apologize for his failure of morality.”