Fifty-five per cent of all sexual assault allegations brought to the attention of the Huntsville OPP Detachment between 2010 and 2014 were deemed as unfounded, according to a 20-month investigation conducted through freedom of information requests by the Globe and Mail.
Those statistics, while stark, are not a total surprise for Lauren Power, Executive Director of Muskoka Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services.
We know that there’s a problem locally with women going to police about this. We weren’t aware of how high the statistics were or that we’re in the top five worst ones in Canada. Lauren Power, Executive Director of Muskoka/Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services
She said the majority of women who seek help from the organization don’t report their experience to police.“Women tell us they don’t want to go to the police. They hear from each other it’s not helpful. Many of the women that have made police reports, and that are working with us, will often feel re-victimized in the justice system,” she said. “I’ve spoken personally to women who have gone to police, who have tried to make a statement to police and the police have told them ‘we just don’t think there’s any evidence here for what you’re saying.’”
What’s even more troubling, said Power, is that while the Globe found that between 2010 and 2014, 121 allegations of sexual assault were reported to Huntsville Detachment and 66 were dropped, there are far more victims of sexual violence who don’t come forward.
In the end, a person’s experience with police often depends on the investigating officer, and some are notably better than others.
There are officers who are kind and supportive and trauma informed and women will tend to have a better experience with police officers like that, so it’s always mixed, but there are also women who have had really difficult experiences. Lauren Power
Power said many women tend to try and ignore what’s happened to them and simply move on until they realize they can’t shake the impact. That’s often when they seek help. She also said women who experience trauma can’t always offer a time-based linear description of what they’ve experienced. “Sometimes you may forget aspects of what happened and remember them later or you may be re-experiencing them in the form of flashbacks.”
Those who do not want to report an incident directly to police can also seek justice by applying to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board of Ontario, which assesses financial compensation for victims of violent crimes and their families. But it’s not for everyone, explained Powers, and it doesn’t result in a criminal charge on the alleged offender, although they are typically notified and have the right to respond but not to be present at the hearing. “It’s one avenue. We tend to encourage women to do that with support.”
Power explained that her organization sits on committees in both Muskoka and Parry Sound, which bring together related stakeholders and justice system partners to the same table. She’s hopeful that the Globe article will prompt an honest discussion with the OPP and the area Crown attorneys in order to find ways to improve confidence in the judicial system for victims of sexual violence. Powers also wants to understand why the rates of allegations that are deemed unfounded by police are so high.
Sergeant Peter Leon, Provincial Media Relations Co-ordinator, said the OPP is aware of the article. “We’re not in a position at this present time to speak to the sources of information that were utilized in that article, however I can state that the OPP is reviewing sexual assault investigations and the outcomes on a detachment-by-detachment basis,” he said, adding that he could not speculate how long that might take.
It is something that will take a period of time because we’re not dealing with a few investigations, we’re dealing with a significant number of investigations and I think in fairness we owe not only the victims of these crimes, but the citizens of Ontario, we owe them the opportunity to understand that we’re going to look into this matter that has been brought to our attention very, very closely. OPP Sergeant Peter Leon
Leon noted that sexual assault allegations are complex to investigate and said, “all of our members who conduct sexual assault investigations have completed a specialized, one-week sexual assault investigator’s course. So they are very highly trained in this capacity to do so.”
He said no two investigations are ever the same, but assured that the OPP take allegations of sexual assault very seriously. When asked who would be reviewing sexual assault reports brought to the various detachments and their outcomes, he said it would be done internally. “We’re blessed with wonderful investigators in this organization who take their jobs very, very seriously and I can assure you that they will be reviewing each and every case with the same magnitude that they would’ve been investigated initially.”
Leon said in most cases the initial call for service received by police is routed to the provincial communication centre, which for Bracebridge and Huntsville is located in Orillia on Hwy 12. He said when a complaint is initially received, a call for service is created and an officer is dispatched to speak to the alleged victim and that is when the investigation commences. “At that point the uniformed officer would be getting in touch with the area crime sergeant and they would be assigned a trained and qualified member of the OPP to carry out that investigation and they will interview the victim, any witnesses, that type of thing and they will take their investigation where the evidence leads them.”
Asked whether alleged victims of sexual crime are within their right to request a female police officer, Leon said “absolutely.” He said if a detachment does not have a female officer on shift and somebody makes a specific request for a female officer, another detachment with a female officer on duty should be able to respond. “If somebody makes a specific request we will certainly work with the victim to make sure that their request is fulfilled,” he said.
Again, it is not clear how long it will take the OPP to investigate its own, but Leon assured it will be done.
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We’re informed here that: “I can assure you that they will be reviewing each and every case with the same magnitude that they would’ve been investigated initially” while: “There are officers who are kind and supportive and trauma informed and women will tend to have a better experience with police officers like that, so it’s always mixed, but there are also women who have had really difficult experiences.”
So, like so much “news” these days – what to believe and what to hope for?
This is a sad story, locally or anywhere. For any woman who goes to police about an assault, my assumption is there’s something to be investigated, not dropped.
Victims Services are just a phone call away…Crisis responders are available to assist the OPP…however, they need to be called. Some officers are better than others at making those calls.
This is an excellent and somewhat disturbing article. The last sentence is also very disturbing. Remember Walkerton? What would have happened had that public utility investigated itself? The media has a very important role here in asking for accountability. Thank you for starting the discussion. Every work place has room for improvement. I would like to hear more about how these statistics were obtained. We all know that their are good and bad methods of research. It was interesting to note though that Ms. Power’s statements had a very different tone than Leon’s did. Thank you for shedding light on this situation. Let’s hope some positive changes occur because of it.
Thank-you for reporting on this.