Halton’s efforts to transform how it handles sexual-assault complaints stems from a Globe and Mail investigation that revealed police across the country had been discarding one out of every five allegations as false or baseless
. “It was right there in black and white,” recalls Halton Inspector Chris Newcombe. Initially, there was some feeling of defensiveness, he concedes. Being confronted with an unflattering picture of yourself can be “tough to swallow,” he said, “but when you look at the big picture, we knew we needed to make change.”
Since 2017, Dr. Haskell has led 134 police training sessions, including with the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police, Canadian military police and many municipal services, as well as additional sessions with judges and Crown attorneys. Her goal is to unpack what’s happening in the brain and body when a person is terrified and fearful for their life.
If a sexual-assault complainant feels like they’re being interrogated, the detective is not going to get the best possible interview. “When people feel safe, they have better access to their memories,” Dr. Haskell said. “They’ll feel more comfortable talking about the moments that are embarrassing or humiliating. No one wants to talk about those things when they’re feeling challenged or blamed.”
This community group also reviewed all sexual-assault complaints that were deemed unfounded, as well as a sample of other cases. This continued up until the pandemic. The committee then provided recommendations to Halton police. It pushed the police to implement training around consent laws – among other things – and encouraged the department to improve its communication with complainants, for example about the status of their case.
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