Globe investigation prompts OPP to take a second look at how it handles sexual assault cases
It’s time to change the relationship with those who police us: Aitchison
Commentary: Why ‘Unfounded’ and What Now? ~Kathleen May
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Media Release
OPP ANNOUNCES VICTIM RESPONSE SUPPORT STRATEGY
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) today announced a Victim Response Support Strategy, which includes several actions the OPP is taking to improve the response to and support for sexual assault victims. The strategy outlines several new initiatives that focus on victim support, investigative excellence and oversight.
Key improvements include:
Victim Support
- Resources to support informed, responsive officers
- Victim response and support liaisons
- Regional leads, Victim Response Support Unit
- Research analysts, Victim Response Support Unit
- Regional collaborations
Investigative Excellence
- Ongoing training
- Data integrity
Oversight
- Victim Response Support Unit
- Regional Collaborative Review Committees
- Provincial Stakeholder Governance Committee
The OPP Victim Response Support Strategy is the result of the OPP Sexual Assault Data Classification and Investigative Review, which examined sexual assault cases closed by police as unfounded between the years of 2010 and 2016. The review included a directive to reopen any sexual assault report that was found not to be properly investigated.
Of the 5,322 unfounded cases reviewed, 3,463 (65 percent) were cleared correctly, 1,859 (34.9 percent) could potentially have been cleared using another classification, and 12 (0.2 percent) were reopened for investigation.
Both the OPP Victim Response Support Strategy and the review findings can be found at opp.ca/victimstrategy
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Victim Response Support Strategy outlines the actions the OPP is taking to ensure victims of sexual assault are able to report their experiences with confidence that they will receive the support and services they need. The OPP is committed to investigative excellence, strengthening our relationships with community partners and agencies, and putting additional accountability measures in place to improve the response to and support for victims.
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner J.V.N. (Vince) HAWKES
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in a separate media report the OPP outline a plan to deal with sexual assault in Muskoka and Simcoe with a budget to implement the program. The dedicated staff of the Sexual Assault services in Muskoka are the professionals who can assess the merits of the OPP proposal.
I fail to see how this report addresses the serious matter of the high number sexual assault cases in Muskoka dismissed as unfounded.
As the overwhelming number of these cases involve males assaulting females (physically or emotionally); I feel that, by far, the most important measure is to recruit more female officers to populate the geographical area better. It does not matter how empathetic a responding male officer is in one of these cases: it is patently unfair to have a traumatized female attended by a male.