Gazette - Upping Intelligence on Sex Crimes

NEWS NOTES

by Caroline Ross

Adult sexual assault victims in British Columbia can now report to police anonymously through community-based victim assistance agencies, thanks to a new thirdparty reporting protocol that took effect in fall 2008.

The protocol involves a partnership between the RCMP, municipal police forces and community-based victim assistance programs across B.C. It is the first provincewide protocol in Canada, and stakeholders hope it will ncourage more women — particularly marginalized sex workers — to share information with police.

“Often women that work in the sex trades have had run-ins with the police,” says Tracy Porteous, executive director of the Ending Violence Association of B.C., the organization that spearheaded the initiative. “(These women) wouldn’t necessarily think of calling the police first-off, but they often come forward to community-based victim services programs for (help) managing the psychological aftermath of being sexually assaulted.”

Under the protocol, victimized women can fill out a standard questionnaire that is forwarded to police under conditions of anonymity. Police can then use the information to help identify patterns, develop profiles and modify patrol strategies. Investigators also have the option of going back to a community victim service agency to ask if a particular victim is willing to come forward and speak openly with police, says Det/Cst Kathleen Tchang of the Vancouver Police Sex Crimes Unit.

Some women do come forward, says Tchang, and that opens the door for investigations that wouldn’t otherwise be possible.

The anonymous reporting service is offered by 62 community-based victim assistance programs across B.C., thanks to funding provided by the RCMP and Justice Canada. “Sex workers travel around (the province), and they bring their stories with them,” says Tchang. “Now we have a way to hear about those stories.”

Police forces across B.C. also share information from the reports through their provincial computer system, allowing investigators to link information across jurisdictions and hone in on sexual predators who move between cities.

The protocol is based on best practices that have been operating in Vancouver, Victoria and Prince George since the early 1990s.