Military unsure of sex-assault conviction stats

• While military commanders have pointed to an increase in criminal investigations as proof that the fight against sexual misconduct is working, military justice officials admit they don’t know how many service members are ever actually convicted.

Defence chief Gen. Jonathan Vance told a Senate committee last week that military police are on track to see a 22-per-cent increase in the number of reported sexual offences from the previous year.

“About half of these are old cases,” Vance said. “This demonstrates to me that at least some of these victims now believe, perhaps for the first time, that we will hear them and take action.”

According to the Canadian Forces National Investigative Service, military police opened 174 investigations into alleged sexual offences in 2015, compared with 106 during just the first six months of 2016. Officials say the majority involved allegations of sexual assault.

But those numbers, which Vance referenced in his testimony, are only the beginning. Of those 280 investigations, 49 actually led to charges. As for convictions, that’s where things get muddy.

When it comes to sexual offences and certain other crimes, military police have the option of referring cases to either military or civilian courts.

The investigative service says 40 of the 49 sex-related cases that led to charges in 2015 and the first six months of 2016 went to civilian courts

Lt.-Col. Brian Frei, deputy commander of the Canadian Forces military police group, said his officers continue to be involved in such cases.

“Tracking military offenders through civilian courts, that’s something that we have not historically done.”