The Halifax Police Board is considering independent reviews of sexual assault cases

The Halifax Board of Police Commissioners is studying an independent review model to investigate cases of sexual assault where charges are not pursued.

The Case Review process for advocates for violence against women was discussed at a board meeting this week.

The approach has been adopted by 30 police departments in five counties and allows an independent third party to review police investigations into sexual assault cases.

Victim advocates are often part of the teams doing the work.

“I think it’s critical that survivors have that voice to be able to tell people about their experience,” said Sunny Marriner, a national coordinator for the project.

‘All that VACR aims to absorb’

Marriner gave a presentation to the supervisory directors during a virtual meeting.

She said adopting the model would provide a new level of oversight for the Halifax Regional Police.

Discussions have already taken place with experts who could be involved in the reviews.

“It has to be people talking to survivors as their core business,” Marrinser said. “They have to be people who are subject matter experts on sexual violence, not just any form of violence.”

Since the reviews began in Canada in 2016, charges have been filed in some cases that have been reopened as a result, Marriner said.

The Carrie Low case, she said, is a good example of the kind of investigation that would be undertaken.

The Halifax woman, who says her 2018 rape case was mishandled, provided details to a police commission this week.

“This is totally what VACR is meant to accommodate,” Marriner said. “She’s had a tough battle for five years.”

Hundreds of files can be reviewed if the model is adopted

The attorney-case review model is one of three under consideration in Halifax.

A case conference process that examines a sample of cases is the second option. The third option is the status quo.

However, a report to the board said there would be a “lingering risk of non-transparency” if the investigations continue in their current form.

Halifax Regional Police Supt. Andrew Matthews, who oversees the agency’s criminal investigation division, said about 300 files could be reviewed if VACR is introduced.

He told the commissioners that he has had many conversations with Marriner and that more work needs to be done to figure out how to implement the project.

“One of the main considerations to look at when we implement this type of project is how it interacts with what we are currently doing and how we can integrate without disrupting things,” he said.

Challenges around information sharing

Matthews said this could mean contacting other police departments of a similar size to see how they answered some of the questions he has.

One of the challenges he mentioned is how information would be shared with people involved in the review process.

The committee has not taken a decision on this. count. Lindell Smith, who sits on the board, said he wants further discussion to focus on the VACR model rather than other options.

Smith has asked for a follow-up report to be completed this fall.

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