Are small local police forces able to handle sex assault cases?
February 9, 2017
A recent Times Colonist story of February 8, 2017 reported on a Globe and Mail investigation:
“The Globe and Mail spent 20 months investigating how police across Canada handle sex assault allegations, and found flaws and inconsistencies in how many cases are closed as unfounded or baseless. Lawmakers and law enforcement have promised to do better.”
An unfounded case indicates the investigating officer does not believe a crime was attempted or occurred.
Two of Greater Victoria’s smallest independent municipal police forces were singled out as having high rates of unfounded sex assault cases: Central Saanich Police Department dismissed 60% as unfounded (15 of 25), while Oak Bay Police Department dismissed 44% as unfounded (7 of 16). The national average is 19%
The two police chiefs have responded to these statistics and their justification can be read in the Times Colonist article. Is there another explanation that has not been brought forward?
Central Saanich Police Department consists of 23 sworn members, four civilian staff, the deputy chief and chief constable. Four of the 23 sworn members are currently seconded to duties elsewhere. Sixteen are assigned to four platoons (uniformed patrol – four per platoon), two to plain-clothes investigations, one youth resources officer, a community engagement officer and a support services sergeant. Platoon officers work 12-hour shifts, two day shifts, two night shifts, then four days off. This leaves only the two detective investigators to carry out all investigations that require follow up, not just sexual assaults. Central Saanich also reported the lowest caseload per office in 2015 (Provincial Solicitor General's latest statistics), indicating that having sufficient time to investigate sexual assaults is less an issue in Central Saanich than it may be elsewhere.
Oak Bay Police Department has 23 sworn members, including a deputy chief and a chief. Like Central Saanich, they have four platoons, which work 12-hour shifts (four on, four off); they also have a school liaison officer and business-community liaison member. Oak Bay does not list members seconded to integrated teams, which would further reduce the number of officers available for investigations. Oak Bay does not indicate whether they have a dedicated detective unit (either on the website or in the annual report to council). Oak Bay reported the second lowest caseload per member in 2015. Thus, like Central Saanich, their members should have the time necessary to investigate sex assaults fully.
The foregoing is not to say that these small police departments do not investigate sex assaults. It is also not a direct criticism of the officers at Central Saanich or Oak Bay. However, the figures in the report do highlight the inherent problem of small police departments and their ability to allocate specialized investigators to crimes such as sex assaults (perpetrated on children and people of either gender).
Larger departments, with their specialized personnel bases, are far better able to set up units to target specific areas of concern, such as sex assault investigations. This would be one of several significant benefits of merging the four independent municipal police departments in Greater Victoria.
So while small departments may focus on a 'no call too small' policy, such as attending by-law complaints, etc., their ability to give serious crimes the appropriate in-depth investigation is restricted by their very limited size. The primary role of the police is to keep the peace, investigate crimes and bring perpetrators to justice; that should be first and foremost – everything else is secondary.
How could things be improved in Greater Victoria? At the very least, by reducing the number of police departments. One option would be to merge the 4 independent municipal police departments, allowing for resources to be pooled. This is a scenario that has been publicly discussed many times over the years but has never been pursued, perhaps because of the following from some suburban residents:
1. Concerns that Police personnel would focus on the downtown core, leaving the suburbs with less police presence than now. This is a fallacy that has been disproved over and over. Locally, the RCMP operates a sub-regional police service in West Shore. The RCMP have separate contracts with View Royal, Colwood and Langford, as well as a component that serves Highlands, Metchosin and unincorporated areas. They work out of one building and have one command structure. It is the duty of the senior member to ensure that police personnel are available to patrol and react to calls in each community and, when necessary, move resources around when special needs demand it, but not to the detriment of other communities they serve. This has worked well for years. Another example is Victoria Police Department (VicPD) serving both Victoria and Esquimalt.
2. Concerns that a merged police department would not be familiar with specific neighbourhood communities. After some initial adjustments VicPD established a West Division that serves Esquimalt, yet they share detective, traffic, forensic, police dog and other support services. The arrangement works well. The City of Vancouver Police are responsible for policing the poorest neighbourhood in Canada (the downtown East Side) as well as the very affluent areas of West Point Grey, Dunbar, Shaughnessy, etc. Does anyone really think that residents of those upscale neighbourhoods don’t receive excellent police services? Unlike Greater Victoria, taxpayers in Shaughnessy, West Point Grey, Dunbar and other neighbourhoods outside downtown Vancouver directly support downtown Vancouver policing through taxes and fees paid to the City of Vancouver. They also share in the substantial tax revenues of the downtown core.
3. Concerns about governance and public oversight of a merged police department. Victoria and Esquimalt, with the help of the Province, created a joint police board for budgeting and local policy oversight (the latter is limited, as chief constables also have direct responsibility to the Solicitor General, the chief law enforcement officer for the province). The two mayors co-chair the Police Board (although originally the Victoria mayor was the chair and the Esquimalt mayor was the vice chair) and alternate the chair position annually. This is a unique situation in BC and would likely become much more cumbersome if any further police mergers took place. (Imagine a police board with 5 mayors sitting on it!). Without some form of municipal amalgamation, or some other form of governance, civilian oversight and a funding formula similar to that which currently exists between Victoria and Esquimalt would have to be developed. Perhaps models used in the regional police forces in Ontario might be applicable here.
In conclusion, the public must be confident that sex assault complaints will be thoroughly investigated throughout the region by police members who are sensitive to the trauma such acts create for victims, and to ensure that adequate resources will be available as and when necessary. At the very least, this situation deserves a thorough examination by the municipalities concerned, with Provincial involvement.
- Colin Nielsen
Police statistics source:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/police/publications/statistics/police-resources.pdf
February 9, 2017
A recent Times Colonist story of February 8, 2017 reported on a Globe and Mail investigation:
“The Globe and Mail spent 20 months investigating how police across Canada handle sex assault allegations, and found flaws and inconsistencies in how many cases are closed as unfounded or baseless. Lawmakers and law enforcement have promised to do better.”
An unfounded case indicates the investigating officer does not believe a crime was attempted or occurred.
Two of Greater Victoria’s smallest independent municipal police forces were singled out as having high rates of unfounded sex assault cases: Central Saanich Police Department dismissed 60% as unfounded (15 of 25), while Oak Bay Police Department dismissed 44% as unfounded (7 of 16). The national average is 19%
The two police chiefs have responded to these statistics and their justification can be read in the Times Colonist article. Is there another explanation that has not been brought forward?
Central Saanich Police Department consists of 23 sworn members, four civilian staff, the deputy chief and chief constable. Four of the 23 sworn members are currently seconded to duties elsewhere. Sixteen are assigned to four platoons (uniformed patrol – four per platoon), two to plain-clothes investigations, one youth resources officer, a community engagement officer and a support services sergeant. Platoon officers work 12-hour shifts, two day shifts, two night shifts, then four days off. This leaves only the two detective investigators to carry out all investigations that require follow up, not just sexual assaults. Central Saanich also reported the lowest caseload per office in 2015 (Provincial Solicitor General's latest statistics), indicating that having sufficient time to investigate sexual assaults is less an issue in Central Saanich than it may be elsewhere.
Oak Bay Police Department has 23 sworn members, including a deputy chief and a chief. Like Central Saanich, they have four platoons, which work 12-hour shifts (four on, four off); they also have a school liaison officer and business-community liaison member. Oak Bay does not list members seconded to integrated teams, which would further reduce the number of officers available for investigations. Oak Bay does not indicate whether they have a dedicated detective unit (either on the website or in the annual report to council). Oak Bay reported the second lowest caseload per member in 2015. Thus, like Central Saanich, their members should have the time necessary to investigate sex assaults fully.
The foregoing is not to say that these small police departments do not investigate sex assaults. It is also not a direct criticism of the officers at Central Saanich or Oak Bay. However, the figures in the report do highlight the inherent problem of small police departments and their ability to allocate specialized investigators to crimes such as sex assaults (perpetrated on children and people of either gender).
Larger departments, with their specialized personnel bases, are far better able to set up units to target specific areas of concern, such as sex assault investigations. This would be one of several significant benefits of merging the four independent municipal police departments in Greater Victoria.
So while small departments may focus on a 'no call too small' policy, such as attending by-law complaints, etc., their ability to give serious crimes the appropriate in-depth investigation is restricted by their very limited size. The primary role of the police is to keep the peace, investigate crimes and bring perpetrators to justice; that should be first and foremost – everything else is secondary.
How could things be improved in Greater Victoria? At the very least, by reducing the number of police departments. One option would be to merge the 4 independent municipal police departments, allowing for resources to be pooled. This is a scenario that has been publicly discussed many times over the years but has never been pursued, perhaps because of the following from some suburban residents:
1. Concerns that Police personnel would focus on the downtown core, leaving the suburbs with less police presence than now. This is a fallacy that has been disproved over and over. Locally, the RCMP operates a sub-regional police service in West Shore. The RCMP have separate contracts with View Royal, Colwood and Langford, as well as a component that serves Highlands, Metchosin and unincorporated areas. They work out of one building and have one command structure. It is the duty of the senior member to ensure that police personnel are available to patrol and react to calls in each community and, when necessary, move resources around when special needs demand it, but not to the detriment of other communities they serve. This has worked well for years. Another example is Victoria Police Department (VicPD) serving both Victoria and Esquimalt.
2. Concerns that a merged police department would not be familiar with specific neighbourhood communities. After some initial adjustments VicPD established a West Division that serves Esquimalt, yet they share detective, traffic, forensic, police dog and other support services. The arrangement works well. The City of Vancouver Police are responsible for policing the poorest neighbourhood in Canada (the downtown East Side) as well as the very affluent areas of West Point Grey, Dunbar, Shaughnessy, etc. Does anyone really think that residents of those upscale neighbourhoods don’t receive excellent police services? Unlike Greater Victoria, taxpayers in Shaughnessy, West Point Grey, Dunbar and other neighbourhoods outside downtown Vancouver directly support downtown Vancouver policing through taxes and fees paid to the City of Vancouver. They also share in the substantial tax revenues of the downtown core.
3. Concerns about governance and public oversight of a merged police department. Victoria and Esquimalt, with the help of the Province, created a joint police board for budgeting and local policy oversight (the latter is limited, as chief constables also have direct responsibility to the Solicitor General, the chief law enforcement officer for the province). The two mayors co-chair the Police Board (although originally the Victoria mayor was the chair and the Esquimalt mayor was the vice chair) and alternate the chair position annually. This is a unique situation in BC and would likely become much more cumbersome if any further police mergers took place. (Imagine a police board with 5 mayors sitting on it!). Without some form of municipal amalgamation, or some other form of governance, civilian oversight and a funding formula similar to that which currently exists between Victoria and Esquimalt would have to be developed. Perhaps models used in the regional police forces in Ontario might be applicable here.
In conclusion, the public must be confident that sex assault complaints will be thoroughly investigated throughout the region by police members who are sensitive to the trauma such acts create for victims, and to ensure that adequate resources will be available as and when necessary. At the very least, this situation deserves a thorough examination by the municipalities concerned, with Provincial involvement.
- Colin Nielsen
Police statistics source:
http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/police/publications/statistics/police-resources.pdf