Sexual violence oversight teams only working with half of N.B. police forces
CBC
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.
"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.
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.
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