Unfounded rate down to 9%

City police chief says officers getting training in trauma interviewing; how sexual assault investigations are classified by city police has already changed

The rate of sexual-assault allegations dismissed by police as baseless – and therefore unfounded – is lower in Peterborough than the national average, says the police chief.

Chief Murray Rodd told the Peterborough Police Services Board at a meeting on Tuesday that the unfounded rate in Peterborough is nine per cent – far below the national rate of 19.39 per cent.

That national average was reported last week by the Globe

and Mail following a 20-month investigation.

Rodd said the unfounded rate in Peterborough has decreased dramatically over the last two years: it was 30 per cent in 2014.

He told the board the police have worked with Kawartha Sexual Assault Centre to lower those rates.

Rodd said officers are trained in “trauma-informed interviewing ”, for example, and police have also “looked internally” at how they classify sexual assault allegations.

They no longer classify allegations as unfounded when there’s simply not enough evidence to lay a charge, for example.

Bob Hall, the chairman of the police board, noted that the Globe reported that unfounded rates in other cities with universities and colleges are higher than in Peterborough.

“The way we’re dealing with victims and complaints – it’s excellent,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rodd said there’s a high rate of sexual assaults reported to Peterborough Police.

He doesn’t think it means sexual assault necessarily happens more often in Peterborough than in other cities, however – he thinks it’s simply reported more often, because there’s a degree of confidence in police.

Still, he thinks sexual assault is underreported in Peterborough; it usually is, he said (people often don’t report it, he said, just as they tend not to report cases of elder abuse.) JKovach@postmedia.com Ontario Provincial Police say they will be reviewing about 4,000 sexual assault investigation reports that were designated as “unfounded.” Commissioner Vince Hawkes says the review will cover allegations made between 2010 and 2014. The announcement follows a report by the Globe and Mail that the newspaper says exposed deep flaws in the way investigators treat sexual assault allegations. The Globe says that as a result of its investigation, Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale has called on police to reassess how they manage sexassault complaints. Hawkes says the OPP takes all reports of sexual assault and violence seriously and “uses all resources necessary to conduct complete, thorough and professional investigations.” He says the OPP will examine the cases over the next several weeks and release a statement at the conclusion of the review, which will include a summary of the analysis. “We have policies and procedures in place, mandatory training for investigators, and layers of supervision and review for these types of investigations,” Hawkes said Wednesday in a release. “We are strongly committed to continuously seek improvement in order to earn and maintain the public’s confidence and trust.” He said if it is determined that any sexual assault report was not properly investigated by the OPP, the investigation will be re-opened. “We want to ensure that all reports during that period were properly classified when received; that the incidents were appropriately investigated; and, that the correct classification was used when the investigation was completed,” Hawkes said. “It will take some time to review and assess these incidents, and, if warranted, we will expand the review.” The OPP also encouraged victims to continue to come forward and report crimes. “I want all victims of sexual assault or any crime to have confidence in the OPP and our ability to investigate crimes and bring those responsible to justice,” Hawkes said.