Complaints raise concerns about how the NB RCMP has handled some allegations of sexual violence

Police and Public Trust, a project of CBC News Atlantic’s investigative unit, is examining largely inaccessible complaint systems and police discipline across the region. Journalists use access to information laws and, in some cases, court complaints to obtain disciplinary records and data.

Three years ago, a Moncton-area RCMP officer was accused of humiliating and ridiculing a woman while taking her sexual assault complaint.

That same year, another complaint came from the Oromocto area from an individual who felt that the investigation into her daughter’s sexual abuse was inadequate. She also said they were not kept updated on his status.

The RCMP did not find any of the complaints to be substantiated, but they are examples of more than 30 allegations made by members of the public about the way RCMP officers in New Brunswick investigated complaints of sexual violence.

CBC Investigates obtained eight years of complaints about how the RCMP investigated a range of crimes, totaling more than 2,600 charges against the RCMP.

Data were obtained through CBC information access ongoing Police and Public Trust projectwhich provides the public with an insight into Atlantic Canada’s often opaque police complaints and discipline systems.

Of the more than 2,600 charges brought against the RCMP, only three percent were found to be substantiated. Half of them were not supported, 17 percent were informally resolved and 16 percent were withdrawn. At the time the data was submitted to CBC, some of it was still under investigation.

Another complaint, from the Sackville area, in 2018, was handled informally after a woman stated that an RCMP sergeant yelled at her over the phone “when she tried to ask why her sexual assault complaint was being investigated without bringing charges.” She also said the RCMP failed to thoroughly investigate her case.

Andie Marks works with Sexual Violence New Brunswick as an advocate for survivors of sexual violence. She works with the RCMP on a quarterly review of sexual violence case files and said she hopes complaints filed against the RCMP will help everyone achieve better outcomes.

“I think all of these complaints are issues that will hopefully allow the RCMP to put appropriate solutions in place so that things like this don’t happen again and that we can support them in that work,” said Marks, director of sexual violence at New York Leader of the justice system in Brunswick.

Increased training

According to the provincial government’s crime panel, 2,168 sexual assaults and 1,138 “other sexual offenses” were reported to the RCMP between 2018 and 2022.

Nearly 47 percent of sexual assault allegations and 55.5 percent of “other sexual violations” were “cleared.” This means that the police charged someone, recommended that someone be charged, or had sufficient information to charge or recommend a charge, but did not do so for various reasons, such as the death of a witness.

In recent years, the RCMP launched a sex crimes investigator course that is mandatory for front-line officers across Canada, according to New Brunswick RCMP spokesman Cpl. Hans Ouellett.

The police still do not have 100% of officers trained in the specialized skills needed to interview victims. However, as of October, 61% of RCMP employees in the province had taken the course, including 86% of front-line officers.

“We really want to make sure that the public understands that as we advance in our protocols, advance in our training and so on, the RCMP is there to listen,” Ouellette said. “We will listen to you and believe you.”

Forty officers have been specially trained to interview children who have experienced sexual violence/

Other training focuses on offering a trauma-informed response and is provided by Sexual Violence New Brunswick.

In addition to the training, Ouellette pointed to a guide designed for front-line investigators and the hiring of a coordinator who oversees responses to sexual violence incidents across the province.

This person serves on multiple committees, works with the committee that reviews sexual assault investigation files “and ensures that we continue to support victims and survivors of sexual assault and really excel at trends.” , what is happening and how we can better support our victims,” ​​Ouellette said.

WATCH | Policing and the public trust: how the RCMP investigates sexual violence complaints:

He added that news of the 2021 complaint, in which a woman alleged that an officer humiliated and ridiculed her, was “disheartening.”

“I’m truly sorry to hear that individuals have had these types of experiences because it is definitely, definitely not related to the values ​​that the RCMP stands for, and especially the values ​​of the RCMP members here in the division).”

The review found shortcomings

The changes were made after a 2017 review found problems in the way the New Brunswick RCMP investigated sexual violence. This was prompted by a nationwide investigation by the Globe & Mail into unsubstantiated sexual assault cases.

A review by the New Brunswick RCMP found that very few of its members – 52 out of more than 800 – had specialized training in sexual violence investigations. Even fewer people have been trained in interviewing children, often leaving this task to employees of the provincial Department of Social Development.

“Investigators would be better prepared to interact with people who have experienced trauma and have a better understanding of the mind and (body) responses to traumatic situations, such as gaps in memories or missing details in memories of events,” the report said. need for further training.

The inspection also revealed a lack of documentation, problems with the interrogation technique and a lack of witness statements. The review examined cases from 2011–2016.

In a summary of the report, the RCMP acknowledged “shortcomings” found during the review and promised to make changes.

However, in 2022, the Civil Review and Complaints Commission, which hears complaints about the RCMP, noted that since 2019, there have been 43 “adverse findings” in sexual assault cases involving the RCMP across Canada. CBC analysis of these findings found that RCMP officers continue to have difficulty taking allegations of sexual assault seriously and grapple with issues related to consent.

Two years later, a commission statement said its work “directly influenced” some of the improvements the RCMP made in the way it handles sexual assault cases, including the creation of a national sexual assault investigation course, changes to the national assault policy sexual assault investigations and the creation of a best practice guide.

The lawyer proposes that the committee examining the case be expanded

Complaints like the one being investigated by CBC are the type of incidents sexual violence in New Brunswick is working to address.

Much of the organization’s work focuses on reducing what is called secondary wounds in people who have experienced sexual violence. Marks said those first conversations with police were “monumental.”

“Even if there is no conviction or even if no charges are brought, if the survivor is treated well by criminal justice actors, if he or she feels heard, if he or she feels believed, if he or she feels that thorough investigation or that the officer or other person did everything they could in the context of those records – often survivors tell us it was still a very difficult experience, but they felt it gave them a chance to get the justice they were looking for.”

Marks said that since the 2017 review, she has found the New Brunswick RCMP has been “more open” to working with organizations like hers.

This may be done through training or by regularly reviewing case files, which has sometimes led to cases being reopened after being reviewed by attorneys.

She said it has also led to policy changes, such as the creation of softer interrogation rooms where you feel more comfortable, and a move away from using so-called KGB statements as the default method of interrogating survivors. KGB statements are videotaped statements that usually include a warning about the consequences of making a false statement, which Marx said can be difficult to hear for a survivor who fears no one will believe them.

Marx would like to expand the commission that hears such cases so that any survivor who wants their case heard can do so.

She would also like to see more sexual violence coordinators hired across the province.

“Policing in rural areas is very different to policing in cities, so I think the people who provide care and review need to be able to recognize these unique aspects,” she said.