Sexual violence oversight teams only working with half of N.B. police forces
5 remaining forces will join program over next 2 years to improve police response to sexual assault
Frontline workers in the field of gender-based violence are set up to review criminal cases of sexual assault at four of New Brunswick's nine police forces.
The number falls short of a timeline that would have seen each force working with an independent oversight committee by this April.
The committees look at closed sexual assault cases to identify any gaps, missed steps or potential biases police officers had during investigations.
The oversight role can lead to improvements in police response to sexual violence or even cases being reopened, according to Jenn Richard, director of strategic development for Sexual Violence New Brunswick.
New Brunswick made national news in 2017 for having the country's highest rate of unfounded sexual assault cases, meaning officers did not believe a crime had occurred.
First launched with the Kennebecasis Valley Regional Police Force in 2021, the committees are now working with municipal forces in Saint John, Fredericton and Woodstock and review cases on a quarterly or annual basis.
"[Police officers] are more aware of the services that may exist in their community, which I think is really important for survivors, not just for their own healing, but it also helps them stay engaged in the justice process, which is a benefit to everyone."
Teams may overlap in geographically close areas, Richard said. There's also a team working with New Brunswick RCMP.
Similar programs exist in other provinces, including Ontario and Alberta. They're based on work done by Sunny Mariner, who developed the model through her work at the Ottawa Rape Crisis Centre in 2017.
Richard previously told CBC News all nine police forces in New Brunswick would be working with the oversight committees by the end of the current fiscal year. Logistical challenges have delayed that timeline, she said, and she now hopes the remaining forces will be participating within the next year or year-and-a-half.
Jenn Richard is the director of strategic development with Sexual Violence New Brunswick. (Marc Genuist / CBC)
"We've also done a presentation to the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police, and they've all responded positively, so we're pretty optimistic that things are going to roll ahead," she said.
The Edmundston Police Force and the BNPP Regional Police Force, serving communities northeast of Bathurst, confirmed to CBC News that they will participate in the program. Police in Grand Falls, Miramichi and Bathurst didn't respond to requests for comment.
Head of police chiefs wants review process to stay
Woodstock Chief Gary Forward, who's also the president of the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police, said the oversight teams are a step in the right direction.
"If we see through these types of partnerships the opportunity to be better, then we need to not only embrace that, but we need to make sure that moving forward we have it in place," he said.
His department had its first audit with the team in 2023. Over the course of a few days, the team members examined records, files and details about the investigative processes of closed cases of sexual violence.
The files never left the building, Forward said, and team members signed a nondisclosure agreement before reviewing them. Some information, like personal medical information, was also redacted.
Gary Forward is the Woodstock police chief and president of the New Brunswick Association of Chiefs of Police. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
After they finished with the files, the team put together a report for the Woodstock force recommending ways to improve their investigative processes going forward.
"There was some very helpful information there," Forward said.
Forward said he wants the auditing process to continue at least yearly. The goal is that officers will learn from each audit, he said, so that the force can proactively address any shortcomings in the investigative process.
Woodstock police also received specialized training from Sexual Violence New Brunswick in 2023, Forward said. They were joined by officers from the Fredericton force and the RCMP.
"It demonstrates that the public safety services in New Brunswick are very aware this is something we need to be on top of and be a part of."
Recommendations about police response still not public
Bettering police response to crimes of sexual violence gained momentum across Canada following a 2017 Globe and Mail investigation that revealed police officers were often dismissing victim allegations as unfounded, depriving them of thorough, trauma-informed investigations.
The Globe's investigation found New Brunswick had the highest percentage of unfounded cases in the country, leading the province to perform an audit of sex crime investigations from 2010 to 2014.
The Department of Justice and Public Safety then put a working group together, made up of advocates in the field and police force associations, to compile formal recommendations about how New Brunswick police officers can improve their response to crimes of sexual violence.
Sexual Violence New Brunswick was part of that work. Richard confirmed to CBC News the recommendations were delivered to the Department of Justice and Public Safety at least two years ago, if not earlier. She also told CBC News in 2022 the recommendations would soon be made public.
That never happened.
The Department of Justice and Public Safety confirmed in an email that the task force made nine recommendations, but would not share them, nor say why they were never made public. In a followup email, the department said it's consulting with stakeholders on a release date.
"I couldn't tell you why they're not public," Richard said."I've also been asking that myself. There has been a lot of really excellent progress that has been made on those recommendations. It's something to actually show off."
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