NATIONAL INITIATIVES 2006-2007

Legal Research

The Donner Canadian Foundation has generously provided funds for sexual assault related legal research. 2006 research priorities, as determined by the National Advisory Board on behalf of participating communities are:

1. The use of pretext phone calls as an investigative strategy – legal foundations, charter requirements, evidence gathering techniques.
2. Identification of case law and development of strategies and justifications for putting forward arguments to require a bona fide basis for asking questions on cross examination. This is to prevent the defense from asking questions for which there is limited foundation.

Standardization of Sexual Assault Forensic Examination Kits

Discussions at the Edmonton conference highlighted that kit format, content, labeling, instructions/protocols for their use, and evidence collection training requirements were variable not only across the country, but within many of the communities. Having multiple and variable kits within a community/region presents challenges for sexual assault forensic medical examiners and prosecutors, and makes it necessary to have multiple policies and procedures. The teams agreed to undertake a national overview of kit contents and usage instructions to:

1. Compare content and guidelines to generate discussion and implementation of best practices.
2. Permit standardization of content, policies, and procedures, as appropriate, within regions and communities, and..
3. Develop guidelines, policies, procedures and training to ensure that evidence is collected in a manner that is the least intrusive for the victim, and is most supportive in building a case for prosecution.

Submission to the Auditor General’s Audit of the RCMP Forensic Laboratories

The project was invited to make a joint submission to the Auditor General’s Audit of the RCMP Forensic Laboratories. A submission is being prepared, focusing on:

1. The challenges presented by delayed analysis response times
2. The need for stakeholders to have input into the provision of forensic laboratory services.

* Final Report: National Initiatives 2006-2007

In keeping with objectives set, teams participated in the following national initiatives:

1.   Promoting communications and information exchanges between disciplines and between project communities

Website

The project website, intended to provide easy access for team members, and as appropriate, for the general public on sexual assault related support, investigative, and prosecution related information has been developed, implemented, and updated.

National Advisory Group monthly tele-conferences

The purpose of the tele-conferences is to seek insight and advice on the best way to address emerging issues, to capitalize on community expertise to identify leading practices and experts, and to provide opportunity for information exchange of topics of interest between the member communities. In this reporting period group discussions have covered a broad range of topics including:

1. Encouraging judicial participation in sexual assault related training
2. Sexual assault examination kit content, policy, and practice
3. Conferences, training opportunities, training materials, and training needs
4. Forensic laboratory services audit
5. Legal issues – pretext phone calls, prosecutor handbooks, expert witnesses, relevance of cross examination questions
6. Third party reporting procedures
7. Community awareness campaigns – poster, brochures, support for immigrant communities
8. Data collection
9. Regional research on links between women’s shelters and sexual assault centers and on provision of sexual assault related services in rural areas
10. Response to drug facilitated sexual assaults
11. Community SART and SANE protocols, agreements and practices
12. Privacy legislation and protection of information
13. Identification of experts

Cross-jurisdictional phone calls for disciplines

These calls provided the opportunity for members to work and exchange information with other members across the country on issues, challenges, and practices on topics ranging from legal issues to sexual assault support and advocacy, medical examinations, investigations and prosecutions.

2.   Conduct legal research on issues of national interest

Use of pretext phone calls in sexual assault investigations

This practice is common in the USA, but has not been used extensively in Canada. Research has concluded that there are no constitutional issues arising from the use of pretext phone calls, as long as the required authorizations are obtained. As obtaining these judicial authorizations may pose some challenges, further research was done through RCMP Technical Services, and through several prosecutors and Canadian police agencies to find examples applications for authorizations that have been successful, and identify good practices for using this tool. Information has been consolidated and is available on the members only section of this website.

Prosecutor Objection Tool

Development of a prosecutor’s objection tool is underway. Research completed to date has highlighted the need to not only provide information prosecutors can work with, but also emphasized the need for professional training for everyone working with sexual assaults and the judiciary on the theoretical socio-cultural constructs and concepts underlying sexual violence and rape myths. This initiative is slated for completion in the summer of 2007.

3.   Support activities that will assist communities in improving their ability to support and advocate for victims and provide improved investigative, forensic medical, and prosecution services.

The Making a Difference Project participants have contributed generously, collaboratively and individually, to three national initiatives:

Federal Auditor General’s Audit of the RCMP Forensic Laboratories

The Making a Difference Canada project was invited to make a submission to the audit team on their experiences with the RCMP forensic laboratories. Team members identified two major concerns:

1. delayed laboratory response times on reporting DNA analysis, and the significant negative impact such delays have on investigations, prosecution, and victims.
2. non-RCMP police agencies, investigators, prosecutors, forensic sexual assault examiners, and advocacy groups who represent the ultimate recipients of decisions made by the laboratory, are powerless to provide any direction as to what levels of services will be provided, and the time frames within which those services will be delivered.

  The report submitted provided examples from across the country of investigative and prosecution challenges encountered, and concluded by noting that the human tragedy associated with delays, and the additional opportunity time delays provide for sexual predators and offenders to commit additional crimes, clearly highlight the need for the justice system to make every effort to speedily get offenders off the street, and brought to justice. It also reflected team member feeling that permitting stakeholder input into the provision of lab services and improving lab response times will have a direct and positive impact on reducing victim suffering and improving the justice system’s ability to deal with sexual predators and offenders more quickly.

The Auditor General tabled the report in the House of Commons in May, 2007. The report is available at www.oag-bvg.gc.ca.

Standardization of Sexual Assault Examination Kits

In discussions it became apparent that sexual assault examination kit contents, directions for use, and sexual assault forensic examination practices varied widely across the country. Team members expressed interest in identifying superior examination tools and best practices on issues ranging from kit size and content to the maximum length of time from an assault to forensic examination, doctor vs nurse examiners, type of containers, examination processes, and diagramming injuries, to aspirating vaginal wash. As well, medical examiners found it particularly challenging to deal with multiple kit types and the variety of protocols and requirements in those jurisdictions with multiple police agencies.

  An extensive content and practice review was conducted and results distributed. Team members identified determining time frames for examination, police roles in forensic exams and how prosecutors use forensic evidence in court as priority issues for examination arising from this review.

  The RCMP are in the process of updating the RCMP sexual assault kit, and are proposing to implement a policy that restricts kits to be accepted at the laboratories to RCMP kits only. The teams agreed that the MAD initiative should be integrated with the RCMP project.

RCMP Sexual Assault Examination Kit Update

With the exception of Ontario and Quebec, which have provincial labs, all other forensic evidence is examined at RCMP labs. The RCMP have indicated they are developing a policy that in future they will accept only RCMP sexual assault examination kits. They have identified, from a laboratory perspective, what their requirements are, but until they connected with the Making a Difference Canada project, had only limited information about medical forensic examiner requirements.

  Participating in this initiative provides an opportunity for MAD Canada teams to have input into how sexual assault related evidence collection, examination, and reporting practices affect their work. Kathleen Soltys is spearheading the MAD Canada medical forensic contributions to the RCMP initiative. She will also be surveying forensic medical examiners in other Canadian communities to ensure that final decisions made are based on the broadest input available.

4.   Advance data collection and evaluation efforts

Considerable time and effort has been expended in customizing data collection forms and definitions for the Canadian context. Communities and disciplines continue to provide input, make adjustments, and raise issues of concern. A number of team representatives have indicated they are looking forward to beginning to collect the data that will provide them with much needed information about sexual assaults in their communities.

  Community data collection commenced on May 01, 2007.

5.   Host four sexual assault training events

Training events were hosted in Victoria, BC, Charlottetown, PEI, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Niagara Falls, Ontario. All four conferences focused on building and expanding collaborative efforts to improve sexual assault support, advocacy, investigation, forensic medical evidence collection, and prosecutions.

  Each conference included elements that were unique, and were considered a priority for the community or region in which the conferences were held.

  The Victoria conference segment on drug facilitated sexual assaults provided participants with valuable information on not only the types of drugs often ingested, but also the effects and symptoms persons who had ingested the drugs could be expected to exhibit, and the impacts that could have for victim support workers, investigators, forensic evidence collection staff, and prosecutors.

  The PEI presentation on privacy and the protection of information spurred sufficient interest that the presenter was asked to remain in PEI for an additional day to meet with government, child protection officials, police, and community members to discuss how they could best share information and still meet privacy requirements. The result was the development and implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing information sharing under legislative authority within the region.

  In Halifax, a Crown presentation on prosecution strategies, the impact and implication s of Bill C-2, and preparing witnesses for court was received with considerable interest, and applauded as a “must hear” presentation for all people working with sexual assaults.

  Where permission has been granted, conference presentations have been posted to this website.