Illustration by Nicole Xu
To gain a better understanding of what police services have been doing to the improve the way they handle sexual-assault cases, The Globe and Mail sent a short questionnaire to every police service in Canada.
This survey asked police departments a series of questions about any new policies, procedures, training and oversight measures that have been adopted since 2017. This is the year The Globe published its Unfounded investigation, a year-long series that revealed police were dismissing one in five sexual-assault complaints as false or baseless.
There are just over 170 police services and 43 participated in The Globe’s survey, including most of the largest services such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Ontario Provincial Police, the Toronto Police Service, Service de police de la Ville de Montréal, the Calgary Police Service and the Winnipeg Police Service. All together, the respondent departments are responsible for policing 69 per cent of the Canadian population.
Of those surveyed, 91 per cent indicated that in the past five years, they have incorporated new trauma-informed training for officers; 40 per cent had conducted external, civilian-led reviews of sexual-assault investigative files; and 72 per cent said they had adopted new policies or procedures.
For example, 44 per cent of responding police services – including the Amherst Police Department in Nova Scotia, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service in Quebec and Ontario, and the Oak Bay Police Department in British Columbia – indicated they have implemented a new policy requiring supervisors to be involved in any decision to classify a sexual assault as unfounded.
Of the services that have brought in community case reviews, the vast majority – 94 per cent – include front-line advocates and counsellors who are involved in efforts to end violence against women. These teams are given access to sexual-assault case files to look for signs of investigative missteps or biases.
Some police services that have not brought in this kind of community oversight have adopted internal reviews, where specialized teams of sworn police officers examine files for deficiencies. Of the respondents, 53 per cent indicated they have done internal reviews.
Among the other new initiatives, several police services – the Oak Bay Police Department, the Guelph Police Service, the Saanich Police Department, the Waterloo Regional Police Service and the Kingston Police – created more welcoming interview spaces for complainants. These rooms – sometimes called “soft rooms” – have features such as couches, wall art and plants. The idea is that these spaces feel distinct from a room where a suspect may be interrogated. Some RCMP detachments have also created such soft spaces.
In British Columbia, the New Westminster Police Department launched a specialized unit to investigate sexual assaults. In Nova Scotia, the Halifax Regional Police updated the policies of its sexual-assault investigative team to emphasize a victim-centred trauma-informed approach.
In Ontario, the Barrie Police Service launched the Speak Out app, which allows complainants to file a report anonymously. This isn’t the same as filing a police report, but it may help investigators in cases that are continuing or future ones. It also helps the police service gain a better understanding of the types of occurrences, locations and circumstances of sexual violence happening in the city, the service said in its reply.
Also in Ontario, the North Bay Police Service adopted new policies, including that only a designated, specially trained investigator can conduct sexual-assault investigations. The same policy was adopted by the Calgary Police Service.
In the Greater Toronto Area, the Halton Regional Police Service now sends “close of investigation” letters to complainants, which spell out key information about how their case was managed. It includes the occurrence number, the officer in charge, how the case was cleared (for example, whether it was dismissed as unfounded, or whether a charge laid) as well as community services and supports.
In Quebec, the Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau expanded the size of its specialized sexual-assault unit and has implemented external case review.
At the end of each questionnaire, police services were given an opportunity to add any additional information. One of the services that included a lengthy response was the London Police Service, located in Southwestern Ontario. This police department had been a major part of the 2017 series, both as a service with a high unfounded rate (30 per cent) and because of its serious mishandling of a reported sexual assault at a fraternity party.
“The London Police Service has taken a number of steps to ensure that best practices are established and implemented relating to sexual assault investigations,” it wrote in the questionnaire. The service has added new training, incorporated new policies – such as updating the procedure around how cases are deemed unfounded – and implemented civilian advocate case review.
“[London Police Service] Procedure has also been updated to emphasize that the LPS is committed to a victim-centric, trauma-informed approach to investigations. LPS reporting of crime data will be in a manner that is more victim-centred and correctly conveys belief in the victim.”
Police services that participated in the survey:
- Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service
- Amherst Police Department
- Aylmer Police Service
- Barrie Police Service
- BNPP Regional Police
- Brandon Police Service
- Brantford Police Service
- Calgary Police Service
- Cornwall Police Service
- Delta Police Department
- Edmonton Police Service
- Force policière d’Edmundston
- Grand Falls Police Force
- Guelph Police Service
- Halifax Regional Police
- Halton Regional Police Service
- Kebaowek Police
- Kingston Police
- Lethbridge Police Service
- London Police Service
- Medicine Hat Police Service
- Moose Jaw Police Service
- New Glasgow Regional Police
- New Westminster Police Department
- Niagara Regional Police Service
- North Bay Police Service
- Oak Bay Police Department
- Ontario Provincial Police
- Peel Regional Police
- Peterborough Police Service
- Regina Police Service
- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
- Saanich Police Department
- Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau
- Service de police de la Ville de Montréal
- Service de police de la Ville de Québec
- Stratford Police Service
- Thunder Bay Police Service
- Timmins Police Service
- Toronto Police Service
- Truro Police Service
- Waterloo Regional Police Service
- Winnipeg Police Service
Robyn Doolittle
Mahima Singh