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In the next few weeks, a civilian panel will start running quarterly reviews of dozens of Ottawa cases in the hopes of improving the way police investigate sexual assault and domestic violence.
The problem the project is aimed at changing is a long-standing one — many women who come forward with reports of sexual assault feel police don’t believe them.
A large proportion of sexual assault cases are “unfounded,” meaning police have concluded that no crime occurred or was attempted. Statistics from across North America suggest that only five per cent of sexual assault cases are reported. Of those, about 80 per cent don’t move forward to the courts.
Project lead Sunny Marriner, who is the executive director of the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre, said the issue of sexual assault and believing victims is on everyone’s mind right now, so it’s a good time to launch the pilot.
“We want to see more cases moving through the criminal justice system when there’s an opportunity to do so,” she said.
There are three ways for police to “clear” a sexual assault case. A charge may be laid; the case may be “unfounded” or it can be “cleared otherwise” — often because the complainant doesn’t want to lay charges. The Ottawa panel will look at all of Ottawa’s unfounded cases, as well as the “cleared otherwise” cases.
The idea for civilian audit committees came from a Philadelphia police commissioner who was looking to restore the public’s faith following a damaging 1999 newspaper series on unfounded cases.
The Philadelphia reviews found numerous areas of concern, including missing records of rape kit results, reports that victims were being blamed for being assaulted and witnesses who were not questioned. Philadelphia has run annual civilian reviews for the past 18 years, and the model has spread across the U.S.
The front-line workers on the panels have insight to offer police, said Marriner. For example, the credibility of a sexual assault witness is often determined based on the chronological account of the complaint and if the witness can recount the series of events backwards. But neurological research suggests that’s impossible to do for a trauma survivor, she said.
The same is true of details. Trauma survivors are expected to remember details, but they often retain only those that are necessary to their surviving the experience. In one case recounted by a researcher, a survivor of multiple sexual assaults couldn’t remember anything about the room in which they occurred, but could remember the number of holes in the acoustic tiles on the ceiling.
Watching videos of police interviews may also yield some suggestions for change. The principles of “active listening” suggest that an interviewer should lean forward to listen, for example. But that feels threatening to a victim of violence, said Marriner.
Carrolyn Johnston, acting executive director of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, said the Philadelphia model focuses on the experience and knowledge of front-line workers and doesn’t put responsibility on survivors of sexual assault.
‘They’re looking for patterns and trends, noting similarities in multiple cases,” she said.
The process isn’t about unfounded cases, it’s about the police investigative process, said Ottawa police Insp. Jamie Dunlop. He points out that Ottawa police did their own internal review of unfounded cases in 2013. In 2012, the unfounded rate was 28 per cent. That has since dropped to eight per cent.
Ottawa police Insp. Jamie Dunlop
One of the ways to judge the success of the review panels will be to see if a greater proportion of the cases move into the criminal justice system, said Marriner. She will be watching the charge rate to see if it increases.
“If we have a charge rate of 16 per cent in year and a 16 per cent rate next year, then it means no more cases have moved forward,” she said. “If we don’t have strong investigations, Crown (attorneys) won’t be able to move forward with strong cases.”
From the police perspective, one of the measures of success will be if police accept the reviews as a tool, and if the reviews result in changes to the way they do things, said Dunlop.
“It’s not about looking over people’s shoulders. It’s about expertise,” he said. “We’ll be looking through their eyes as front-line professionals.”
But he also adds that the review panels will learn about hurdles in the justice system, and why some police procedures can’t be done differently. “Interviews (are an) example,” he said. “There are ways we have to interview. We can’t ask leading questions.”
What is the Philadelphia model? It’s a system of auditing how police handle sexual assault cases. A civilian panel, which consists of front-line workers experienced in working with sexual assault survivors, reviews how cases were handled with an eye to improving police procedures and investigations.
What’s the goal? The hope that this will lead to laying more charges and, eventually, obtaining more sexual assault convictions.
How does it work? The panels review police reports and interview videos to find ways procedures and investigations can be improved. Information on the cases remains strictly confidential.
How will it work in Ottawa? The Ottawa panel will have five members and will meet four times a years for the three years of the pilot project. For the time they are on the review panel, the members are considered to be “seconded” to the police service. For privacy reasons, the panel can’t review cases where the complaint is under 16 or the accused is under 18.
How many cases will be reviewed? The Ottawa panel will meet for the first time in the next few weeks. So far, there are about 165 “unfounded” and “cleared otherwise” cases from 2017 to be reviewed, as well as a selected sample of domestic violence cases.
Who’s paying for it? Status of Women Canada announced just less than $500,000 for training last summer. Panel members take time off from their normal duties and are not paid.
Is this happening anywhere else in Canada? Other pilot projects are also underway in Kingston, Stratford, Timmins, Peterborough, London and Calgary. At least 15 other cities are interested in their own pilot projects.
jlaucius@postmedia.com
查看原文...
The problem the project is aimed at changing is a long-standing one — many women who come forward with reports of sexual assault feel police don’t believe them.
A large proportion of sexual assault cases are “unfounded,” meaning police have concluded that no crime occurred or was attempted. Statistics from across North America suggest that only five per cent of sexual assault cases are reported. Of those, about 80 per cent don’t move forward to the courts.
Project lead Sunny Marriner, who is the executive director of the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre, said the issue of sexual assault and believing victims is on everyone’s mind right now, so it’s a good time to launch the pilot.
“We want to see more cases moving through the criminal justice system when there’s an opportunity to do so,” she said.
There are three ways for police to “clear” a sexual assault case. A charge may be laid; the case may be “unfounded” or it can be “cleared otherwise” — often because the complainant doesn’t want to lay charges. The Ottawa panel will look at all of Ottawa’s unfounded cases, as well as the “cleared otherwise” cases.
The idea for civilian audit committees came from a Philadelphia police commissioner who was looking to restore the public’s faith following a damaging 1999 newspaper series on unfounded cases.
The Philadelphia reviews found numerous areas of concern, including missing records of rape kit results, reports that victims were being blamed for being assaulted and witnesses who were not questioned. Philadelphia has run annual civilian reviews for the past 18 years, and the model has spread across the U.S.
The front-line workers on the panels have insight to offer police, said Marriner. For example, the credibility of a sexual assault witness is often determined based on the chronological account of the complaint and if the witness can recount the series of events backwards. But neurological research suggests that’s impossible to do for a trauma survivor, she said.
The same is true of details. Trauma survivors are expected to remember details, but they often retain only those that are necessary to their surviving the experience. In one case recounted by a researcher, a survivor of multiple sexual assaults couldn’t remember anything about the room in which they occurred, but could remember the number of holes in the acoustic tiles on the ceiling.
Watching videos of police interviews may also yield some suggestions for change. The principles of “active listening” suggest that an interviewer should lean forward to listen, for example. But that feels threatening to a victim of violence, said Marriner.
Carrolyn Johnston, acting executive director of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, said the Philadelphia model focuses on the experience and knowledge of front-line workers and doesn’t put responsibility on survivors of sexual assault.
‘They’re looking for patterns and trends, noting similarities in multiple cases,” she said.
The process isn’t about unfounded cases, it’s about the police investigative process, said Ottawa police Insp. Jamie Dunlop. He points out that Ottawa police did their own internal review of unfounded cases in 2013. In 2012, the unfounded rate was 28 per cent. That has since dropped to eight per cent.
Ottawa police Insp. Jamie Dunlop
One of the ways to judge the success of the review panels will be to see if a greater proportion of the cases move into the criminal justice system, said Marriner. She will be watching the charge rate to see if it increases.
“If we have a charge rate of 16 per cent in year and a 16 per cent rate next year, then it means no more cases have moved forward,” she said. “If we don’t have strong investigations, Crown (attorneys) won’t be able to move forward with strong cases.”
From the police perspective, one of the measures of success will be if police accept the reviews as a tool, and if the reviews result in changes to the way they do things, said Dunlop.
“It’s not about looking over people’s shoulders. It’s about expertise,” he said. “We’ll be looking through their eyes as front-line professionals.”
But he also adds that the review panels will learn about hurdles in the justice system, and why some police procedures can’t be done differently. “Interviews (are an) example,” he said. “There are ways we have to interview. We can’t ask leading questions.”
What is the Philadelphia model? It’s a system of auditing how police handle sexual assault cases. A civilian panel, which consists of front-line workers experienced in working with sexual assault survivors, reviews how cases were handled with an eye to improving police procedures and investigations.
What’s the goal? The hope that this will lead to laying more charges and, eventually, obtaining more sexual assault convictions.
How does it work? The panels review police reports and interview videos to find ways procedures and investigations can be improved. Information on the cases remains strictly confidential.
How will it work in Ottawa? The Ottawa panel will have five members and will meet four times a years for the three years of the pilot project. For the time they are on the review panel, the members are considered to be “seconded” to the police service. For privacy reasons, the panel can’t review cases where the complaint is under 16 or the accused is under 18.
How many cases will be reviewed? The Ottawa panel will meet for the first time in the next few weeks. So far, there are about 165 “unfounded” and “cleared otherwise” cases from 2017 to be reviewed, as well as a selected sample of domestic violence cases.
Who’s paying for it? Status of Women Canada announced just less than $500,000 for training last summer. Panel members take time off from their normal duties and are not paid.
Is this happening anywhere else in Canada? Other pilot projects are also underway in Kingston, Stratford, Timmins, Peterborough, London and Calgary. At least 15 other cities are interested in their own pilot projects.
jlaucius@postmedia.com
查看原文...
