Community leaders to review unfounded sexual assaults with Regional Police
Posted Mar 1, 2017 04:19:20 PM.
Last Updated Mar 1, 2017 05:00:08 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Waterloo Regional Police are reviewing the process in which sexual assault cases are reported and managed in our region.
This comes after a report by the Globe and Mail found the unfounded sexual assault rate in our region sits at 27%, compared to the national average at 19%.
Community leaders and stakeholders from 30 groups will sit down and re-evaluate how sexual assault cases are handled in our region.
The Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region, local hospitals, school boards, and victims are expected to be present.
Police Chief Bryan Larkin says the current process needs to be modernized.
“What works in Waterloo, may not necessarily work in every community, or our practices may be slightly different, but we have to look at this from a province-wide approach but also a national standard,” says Larkin. “A victim – regardless of where you are should feel comfort, they should feel trust, they should feel confidence.”
He says a concept mentioned by the federal government and SASCWR is the “Philadelphia Model,” where local support groups work with police and, if necessary, review sexual assault cases.
“I think that there is sort of an expectation that we should have a discussion and a dialogue about what that looks like,” says Larkin. “I think there’s probably best practices and learned practices across, not only Canada, but also in the United States that may be of some assistance to us.”
The group will be reviewing sensitivity, interviewing, environment, as well as a sample of unfounded cases.
Larkin says a date for this facilitated meeting is expected be set soon.
