News release
RCMP-StFX partnership powers diverse student research on policing and social issues
November 3, 2025
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Antigonish, Nova Scotia
From: Nova Scotia RCMP
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A partnership between the Antigonish County District RCMP and St. Francis Xavier University (StFX) is driving innovative student research with some real-world implications for policing and public safety.
Since 2021, psychology students at StFX have worked to digitize and analyze 20 years of RCMP cell log data through a collaboration initiated by Sgt. Warren McBeath and Dr. Margo Watt, senior research professor and professor emerita in the Department of Psychology. The project has supported multiple honours theses, provided part-time employment for students, and offered new insights into policing practices.
Abigail Jessome, currently completing her fourth year in the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in the Applied Forensic Psychology program at StFX, is investigating the Ontario Domestic Assault Risk Assessment (ODARA) – a tool used by police officers in Nova Scotia to assess intimate partner violence risk. Her research is focused on whether the integration of dynamic risk factors, such as poor anger control, can improve the ODARA’s predictive validity.
“The topic of intimate partner violence is increasingly important,” says Jessome. “I was also drawn to the project as it included opportunities to bring research to practice and it’s extremely important to me that research I am doing is shared with the people who can benefit from it.”
Alannah Ingles, now in her first year of the Master of Social Work program at Dalhousie University, focused her StFX honours thesis on domestic violence (DV) trends in Antigonish. It compared DV-related offences – such as assault, uttering threats, and criminal harassment – before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to assess whether local patterns reflected national trends.
“This project was an eye-opening experience that revealed the complexities of addressing intimate partner violence within law enforcement systems,” says Ingles. “It deepened my interest in research and policing, which I’ll pursue through graduate studies and a career advancing best practices in preventing and responding to intimate partner and gender-based violence.”
Both students gained hands-on experience through their work at the Antigonish RCMP Detachment. Their access to police files and specialized training enabled them to code hundreds of cases and contribute to a growing body of evidence-based research aimed at improving police response to violence.
“Through this strong partnership that has been built between the university and the local detachment, we’ve been able to support the very important research that the students are doing,” says S/Sgt. Kim Hillier, Detachment Commander. “And as an added benefit, we’re hopefully helping to shape future police response and investigations into intimate partner and gender-based violence.”
The work has also attracted two multi-year research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, supporting a number of students’ studies.
“Our research collaboration with the RCMP has been a true win-win situation,” says Dr. Watt. “Having the opportunity to work directly with the RCMP has shaped students’ learning and, for some, their career goals. This model of collaboration with university researchers serves the RCMP’s expressed efforts to improve evidence-based practices and extend community outreach.”