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Case Reviews of Police Sexual Assault Files Closed without Charges

Member agencies of CRSAC take part in two police-reported sexual assault review processes, the Violence Against Women Advocate Case Review and the RCMP Sexual Assault Investigative Review Committee.

Violence Against Women Advocate Case Review

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The Violence Against Women Advocate Case Review (first operationalized in Philadelphia in 2001 and colloquially known as the “Philly Model”) was developed by the Improving Institutional Accountability Project (IIAP) and seeks to increase equitable access to the justice system for survivors of sexualized violence through objectively measurable improvement in policing violence against women.

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VACR identifies and addresses root causes in case attrition in sexual assault reports to police. It enables independent, arms-length review of sexual assault investigations that did not proceed to charges. The VACR model has been endorsed by the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police in A Canadian Framework for Collaborative Police Response in Sexual Violence. VACR is now operating in Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw, and Prince Albert. For more information, visit https://vacr.ca/.

RCMP Sexual Assault Investigative Review Committee

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In November 2019, the RCMP F Division (Saskatchewan) established a committee of sexual assault service agency staff to provide external oversight of RCMP sexual assault investigations. Similar teams are meeting across the country.  The Sexual Assault Investigations Review Committee (SAIRC) meets quarterly to review a random sampling of concluded sexual assault investigations that were classified as “Not Cleared by Charge” (including files classified as unfounded). SAIRC is mandated to:

  • make case-specific recommendations which could lead to the file being re-classified and/or the re-opening/taking further investigative actions for cases determined to have deficiencies that may impact the outcome of the investigation; and

  • make broad-based recommendations to improve the RCMP's response to complaints of sexual assault and enhance RCMP policies, procedures and training.

 

Our three member agencies participate as members of the provincial review team.

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