| That one Constable should be directed to take the RCMP Sexual Offences Investigation course, if she has not already received this training since the latest training records provided to the Commission. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable should receive operational guidance about the law of sexual assault and the law of consent, and about the specific issues identified in this report in terms of his handling of the complainant’s complaint, particularly with respect to his premature and faulty assessment of the complaint. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable’s supervisor should complete a file review of past sexual assault investigations conducted by one Constable to ensure that other investigations did not suffer from similar deficiencies. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That two Constables should receive operational guidance about the dangers associated with adopting reasoning based on rape myths and stereotypes in evaluating sexual assault complaints. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That two Constables should receive operational guidance about the appropriate response to delayed reports of sexual assault. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable should receive operational guidance on the need to conduct a thorough investigation before concluding that a sexual assault complaint is unfounded. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable should receive operational guidance specific to the importance of treating sexual assault victims with respect and compassion and ensuring that they do not feel judged or disbelieved, particularly during initial encounters with law enforcement. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That two Constables should receive operational guidance on the importance of considering and discussing safety planning with victims, regardless of whether an arrest has been made or a charge has been laid. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That two Constables should receive operational guidance on the importance of submitting a referral to Victim Services in all sexual assault cases. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That two Constables should be directed to take the Victim Bill of Rights course. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable should receive operational guidance on the importance of keeping complainants informed of the progress and outcome of investigations into their complaints. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That two Constables should receive operational guidance, training or mentoring on the timing and appropriateness of advising complainants to apply for a peace bond. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That further training and direction should be provided to Operational Communications Centre personnel on the requirement to carefully identify files that contain any high-risk elements so that the files can be assessed by RCMP supervisors and reviewed as necessary. |
Supported |
Completed on 2025-05-05 |
| That one Constable and one Corporal should receive operational guidance about the importance of addressing information indicating that there is a danger to human life or safety, including by conducting the necessary investigations and attempting to locate and seize any weapons. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That all of the RCMP members involved in investigating the complainant’s complaints or supervising the investigations should receive operational guidance on the importance of giving meaningful consideration to the safety and security of victims, and on the importance of documenting all information about threats to the safety of a victim, regardless of whether an arrest has been made, or a charge has been laid. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That all of the RCMP members involved in investigating the complainant’s complaints or supervising the investigations should be directed to take the Victim Bill of Rights course, if they have not already received this training. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable, one Corporal and one Sergeant should receive operational guidance about the importance of verifying all of the facts prior to questioning the credibility of a sexual assault complainant. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable, one Corporal, and one Sergeant should receive operational guidance about the necessity of investigating all information believed to be newly received that indicates the possibility that a sexual assault was committed. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable should not be permitted to respond to any sexual offence complaint or conduct or participate in any investigation of a sexual offence until he has received all of the operational guidance recommended in this report. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Sergeant should receive operational guidance about the law of sexual assault and the law of consent, and about the specific issues identified in this report concerning the investigation and review of the sexual assault complaint. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Sergeant should be directed to complete the Sexual Offences Investigation course. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Corporal should receive operational guidance about the law of sexual assault, and about the specific issues identified in this report regarding the handling of the complainant’s complaint. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Corporal should be directed to take the RCMP’s Sexual Offences investigation course, if he has not already received this training. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Corporal should receive operational guidance about the dangers associated with adopting reasoning based on rape myths and stereotypes in evaluating sexual assault complaints. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Corporal should receive operational guidance specific to the importance of treating sexual assault victims with respect and compassion. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Corporal should be directed to take the Victim Bill of Rights course. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable should receive operational guidance about the process to follow when initiating contact with sexual offence victims and about the importance of recording statements from sexual assault victims |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That two Constables should receive operational guidance on the importance of taking detailed and comprehensive notes. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable and one Corporal should receive operational guidance on the importance of identifying accurate occurrence types. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Corporal should receive operational guidance regarding the proper documentation of observations made and of police actions. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable should receive operational guidance on the proper documentation of observations made and of police actions, as well as on the importance of documenting his grounds for conducting an arrest. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Constable should receive operational guidance about completing detailed, accurate, and timely police notes and reports. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That one Sergeant should receive operational guidance on the importance of taking detailed and comprehensive notes in a timely manner. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That Senior management in “H” Division should be directed to review the current allocation of police resources in the Colchester County District to ensure that proper resourcing is in place in each detachment. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That the “H” Division CROPS Officer should be directed to officially share the IOR report with all concerned RCMP members. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| That the RCMP “H” Division should amend its policy on audit and evaluation programs to incorporate individual-level accountability measures to ensure that future Incident Review reports identifying performance gaps are shared with the appropriate RCMP senior members, so that action can be taken to address shortcomings, strengthen learning, and improve performance. This might not require sharing the report with all the individuals involved in every case, but would, at a minimum, require informing them of the issues identified with their performance. |
Supported |
In progress: H Division to implement |
| The RCMP should ensure that, regardless of the different supervision models adopted in the divisions, primary responsibility for overseeing general duty members’ investigations remains with the investigators’ immediate supervisor and their chain of command. |
Supported |
In progress: All Divisions to implement |
| The RCMP should ensure that reviews conducted by case managers or risk managers are never used to discharge immediate supervisors of their responsibility to review all files for investigations conducted by the members under their supervision. |
Supported |
In progress: All Divisions to implement |
| The RCMP should implement measures to ensure that, if supervisors become directly involved in an investigation, another supervisor is tasked with monitoring and reviewing the investigation. |
Supported in part |
In progress: All Divisions to implement |
| The RCMP should work in collaboration with the provincial and territorial jurisdictions it polices to create specialized units to investigate sexual offences in each division. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| Once the specialized units are created, the RCMP should direct that all RCMP members report all sexual offence complaints to their division’s specialized unit. The specialized units should have the authority to take over any sexual offence investigation and to actively monitor the investigations they do not take over. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should consider converting the Sexual Offence Investigations course and the Using a Trauma-Informed Approach course to an interactive, instructor-led format, whether it is taught online or in-person. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| Until the specialized sexual offence investigation units are operational, NOSOIS should review all unfounded sexual assault files and should have final authority to determine whether the unfounded clearance code was appropriately used for each of the files reviewed and to change the code as required. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| National Office of Sexual Offence Investigative Standards (NOSOIS) should ensure that it reviews a substantial number of sexual assault files that did not result in charges in each division. Review of this higher number of files should continue for each division until the specialized unit has been fully operational for several years and the issues observed are less serious or less frequent. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| Following the NOSOIS file reviews and recommendations, a designated officer in each RCMP division should be required to provide a formal report to NOSOIS indicating any action taken and explaining the reasons for any decision not to follow a recommendation. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| Once the specialized sexual offence investigation units are created, divisional coordinators should be embedded in the units and should be required to prepare regular reports to NOSOIS about the activities of the unit. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should task NOSOIS with compiling the information it obtains about general trends and recurring issues of concern from its own reviews, the Sexual Assault Investigative Review Committees (SAIRC) reviews, the specialized units’ oversight functions and activities in all divisions, as well as the divisional Case Manager reviews, and to provide regular reports to the specialized units (once established) about the issues observed. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should substantially increase the number of RCMP members assigned to work as full-time members of NOSOIS. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should formally define the mandate of NOSOIS, while maintaining sufficient flexibility to ensure that NOSOIS can address emergent issues. |
Supported |
Completed on 2017-12-31 |
| Following the SAIRC file reviews and recommendations, a designated officer in each RCMP division should be required to provide a formal report to the SAIRCs, through the divisional Coordinator, indicating what action was taken as a result of each SAIRC recommendation and explaining the reasons for any decision not to follow a recommendation. |
Supported |
Completed on 2025-02-05 |
| The RCMP should direct sufficient resources to the SAIRC reviews to ensure that a substantial number of randomly selected files not cleared by a charge is reviewed in each division. |
Supported |
Completed on 2025-02-05 |
| Each division should have a clear guideline outlining the number of times the SAIRCs will meet and the number of files to be reviewed to meet the target number of reviews. The preferences and availability of the SAIRC members should be taken into account in determining the most efficient process for the reviews, which may include individual reviews or reviews in smaller groups. |
Supported |
Completed on 2025-02-05 |
| The SAIRC members should be provided with the equipment and resources they need to conduct reviews efficiently. |
Supported |
Completed on 2025-02-05 |
| The divisional coordinators should not be present during the SAIRC reviews. They should ensure that the SAIRCs are provided with a private space to conduct the reviews and hold discussions. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The divisional Coordinator should inform NOSOIS and the specialized sexual offence investigation unit in their division (once established) of the results of the SAIRC reviews and the division’s responses. |
Supported |
Completed on 2025-02-05 |
| Each RCMP division should ensure that one or more divisional Case Managers review all ongoing and recently closed sexual assault files until the specialized sexual offence investigation unit becomes operational. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should require investigators, if they decide not to follow a recommendation by the Case Manager, to inform the Case Manager of their reasons for not following the recommendation, as well as to report the matter to their supervisor. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| Divisional case managers should be required to provide reports to NOSOIS on a monthly basis about their file reviews, including the number of files reviewed, the recommendations made, any recommendations not followed, and the recurring issues noted. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
|
NOSOIS should be tasked with preparing annual or bi-annual reports for national and divisional RCMP senior leadership. The reports should compile and analyze all of the information NOSOIS receives, including:
- Information from its own reviews
- Information from the SAIRC reviews
- Information about the action taken further to the NOSOIS and SAIRC recommendations
- Information about recommendations not followed
- Information from the specialized units and the case managers
- An analysis of the overall trends observed
|
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should set up appropriate processes to collect reliable and verified data about sexual assault investigations, including statistics about unfounded cases. |
Supported |
Completed on 2025-10-01 |
|
The RCMP should publish periodic updates about steps taken to improve sexual assault investigations and the results achieved. These updates should include:
- Information about the number of files reviewed by NOSOIS and the SAIRCs
- The main issues identified
- The number of recommendations made to reopen investigations
- The decisions made about those recommendations
- The action taken to address trends and recurring issues identified
- The evolution of the unfounded rate
|
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should ensure that each detachment has an adequate supervision structure sufficient to ensure that investigations are properly documented that supervisors adequately monitor and review all files, that file types are correctly identified, and that links between different files can be easily recognized and acted upon. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The successful completion of advanced training should be required for members of specialized sexual offence investigation units, as well as divisional sexual assault coordinators and case managers. This training would preferably be taught in-person and give in-depth instruction on all aspects of the law of sexual assault, including the law of consent. Updated or refresher training should be completed by the members as necessary. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should make the Sexual Offence Investigations course mandatory for all RCMP members and supervisors who might be involved in investigating or responding to criminal complaints of sexual assault, or who might be involved in supervising such investigations or responses. Updated or refresher training should be completed by the members as necessary. |
Supported |
Completed on 2024-05-30 |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on criminal harassment to require RCMP members to conduct entity queries in police information systems at the outset of an investigation of criminal harassment. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to incorporate a direction to treat victims with compassion, care and respect throughout the investigative process. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to add guidance cautioning investigators about the risk of sexual assault victims not being believed based on inappropriate considerations, such as rape myths and stereotypes, or due to a lack of understanding of the impact of trauma. The policy should direct that members must document a rationale and consult with the specialized sexual offence investigation unit (once created) before taking investigative steps to question the validity of a sexual assault complaint or the credibility of the victim. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to add guidance reminding RCMP members of the importance of ensuring that a safety plan is in place for the victim and that the plan considers all aspects of the victim’s safety. |
Supported |
Completed on 2024-09-25 |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to add a requirement that RCMP members accommodate any request by the victim about the gender of the investigator, wherever possible. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
|
The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to provide clear guidance on the role of RCMP members who act as first responders to sexual offences complaints. This guidance should include:
- A requirement to notify the specialized sexual offence investigation unit for the division
- A requirement to take any necessary steps to ensure the safety of the victim and to ensure that the victim’s medical needs are attended to;
- A requirement to provide information to the victim about the support services available and about the investigative process
- A requirement to delay the initial interview with the victim until guidance is received from the specialized unit, unless there is an urgent requirement to conduct an interview for public safety reasons or to gather and preserve time-sensitive evidence;
- A requirement to attend to the urgent needs of the investigation, such as identifying witnesses and securing evidence
- A requirement to ensure that a thorough record is created of any information the victim does provide about the assault
- Guidance on how first responders should interact with victims, particularly emphasizing the importance of ensuring that the victim is treated with compassion and is reassured that they are believed
|
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to provide guidance on allowing victims to have a support person present during their interview with the RCMP investigator, where possible after considering the impact on the investigation. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to require the use of a soft interview room that maximizes the safety and comfort of the victim, wherever possible, while allowing for the necessary audio- or videorecording to occur. |
Supported in part |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to direct that RCMP members prioritize the continuity of the investigator, wherever possible and unless a change is requested by the victim, and to mandate that, if a change of investigator is unavoidable, the victim should be notified as soon as practicable, and the new investigator should make contact with the victim without delay. |
Supported |
Completed on 2025-09-25 |
| The RCMP should consider including a specific mention in its national policy on sexual offences of the requirement to proactively provide updates to the victim on a regular basis. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
| The RCMP should amend its national policy on sexual offences to direct RCMP members to consider the needs of vulnerable victims, and to take appropriate action to address the barriers and issues they face. |
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
|
The RCMP should amend the Sexual Assault Investigations: Best Practice Guide to:
- Incorporate the guidance contained in the Guide for Contacting Victims of Sexual Assault, with the necessary adjustments
- Include specific guidance on the appropriate use of clearance codes when concluding investigations, in accordance with the UCR Resource Guide
- Add guidance on the investigative techniques to be used when conducting sexual assault investigations in cases where the assailant is unknown to the victim, or the suspect denies that any sexual activity took place
- Include guidance on the duty of law enforcement to warn members of the public in situations where they may be at risk of sexual violence because of an assailant who is at large and might be targeting specific victims
|
Supported in part |
Completed on 2025-10-30 |
|
That once the specialized units are created, the public updates should also include information about:
- The number of files investigated by these units
- The number of sexual offences files investigated by general duty members
- The criteria developed by each of the specialized units to determine which files to investigate
|
Supported |
In progress: Contract & Indigenous Policing to implement |
