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London Police Service worked quickly to restructure the way it deals with cases of sexual violence, after a recent Globe and Mail article revealed London has roughly a 30 per cent rate of unfounded cases.

The London Police Service (LPS) is restructuring the way in which officers deal with cases of sexual violence, after a recent Globe and Mail article discovered London has one of the highest number of unfounded case rates of the 25 largest police communities in the country.

The article published Feb. 3, titled Unfounded: Why Police Dismiss 1 in 5 Sexual Assault Claims as Baseless, was a 20 month investigation piece that looked into the concept of unfounded case rates, which are cases that have been dismissed due to either mistaken reports or baseless information for example.

The article, which looked statistics and cases from 2010 to 2014 suggests that unfounded cases give off the idea that police typically do not believe the victims of sexual assault.

According to the article, in London’s case, there were roughly 30 per cent of unfounded cases from the five-year time frame, which means that roughly 690 out of 2,278 cases were dismissed. This equates to roughly one third of the city’s population.

Now that the news and numbers are out, the LPS is making an effort to re-evaluate the way in which it deals with sexual violence cases.

According to a Feb. 4 press release from the LPS, Chief John Pare announced there would be consultations to discuss a new partnership between the LPS and community partners, which came out a few days later.

The release stated that the partnership would help review and look at the way in which the LPS deals with cases of sexual violence including the way in which they care categorized and cleared, along with the examination of training techniques that investigators received, how this can be improved and finding ways which police can better respond to the needs of victims.

“The London Police Service is committed to providing the best service possible in response to victims of crime and this review will assist us in maintaining the confidence and trust of the community. Through this review we want to look at our current practices and develop better practices,” Chief Pare said.

In a Feb. 6 LPS press release, Pare said after reading and hearing the criticisms of the LPS’ work on sexual violence cases, he felt for the victims.

“My thoughts turned to the victims of sexual violence that our officers come into contact with each and every year and how their lives have been impacted not only by the crimes committed against them but by their experiences with police and the larger criminal justice system. It was with those victims in mind that I implemented the full review of the London Police Service practices regarding sexual violence investigations. And it is with those victims in mind that I would like to apologize to any victims whose experiences left them feeling that they were not supported or that may have eroded their trust in this police service in any way. Because, we are human beings, because we are not perfect, there is always room for improvement,” Pare said.

After moving quickly, the LPS was able to release a Feb.7 statement of some implemented changes to the handling of such cases.

The Victims Services of Middlesex-London (VSML) is in a new partnership with the LPS, to “strengthen supports for victims and survivors of crime and tragic circumstance in the city of London,” the release said.

Effective immediately, the partnership will allow VSML to reach out to the city of London, with a new central office that will be located right in the LPS headquarters on Dundas, the release said.

According to the release, the new program will work with different units of LPS, but it is expected that over 7,000 victims will be served annually.

“The London Police Service looks forward to working collaboratively with Victim Services Middlesex- London to strengthen supports and services to victims of crime and tragedy in our communities. We would like to thank the government of Ontario for their support of this partnership,” Pare said.

According to the press release, the partnership will be an enhancement to the services that are currently being presented by the London Police Service’s Crisis Intervention Support Unit (CIVSU).

Victim Services funding is primarily provided by the Ontario government, Ministry of the Attorney General and Victim Crisis Assistance Ontario (VCAO).

“We would like to thank the government of Ontario and London Police Services for supporting our work on this project,” board chair Kim Gibson said. “This partnership will create a responsive Victim Support Team and extend support to victims throughout our community”

Fanshawe’s sexual violence prevention advisor Leah Marshall said though this is a heavy topic, she is excited that it is “really great” attention.

“I think the main thing we want to touch on is that we’ve heard from students obviously that they’ve had similar experiences and it’s really important that their voices and experiences help inform future practices,” Marshall said.

Marshall mentioned she realizes that we live in a society where messages of consent and rape culture are perpetuated and there are myths that negatively impact survivors.

“It’s really important for us to challenge those stereotypes and myths that still permeate conversations around sexual violence and support students in knowing that they have options available to them but also that those options are going to be trauma informed,” Marshall said.

In terms of Fanshawe’s cases of sexual violence, a November 2016 article pointed out that in 2015 and 2016 year, 10 sexual violence cases were reported to security and then police, however that number is much higher. Marshall was quoted as saying that at least 45 cases have come her way, which doesn’t include those dealt with in the counselling services department. The number has now grown since that stat was taken.

Marshall said the fact that the LPS will be restructuring their practice of handling cases of sexual violence is a step in changing the cultural shift in society.

Marshall said that with this being an issue brought forward with statistics and such, it’s something that really can’t be ignored.

“I would say we are in the very early stages of this being released, but we look forward to kind of a closer examination of practices and the changes and training that will hopefully take place, or continue with the greater focus because these issues now have been brought forward on a national level.”

Marshall said Fanshawe is already implementing trauma training with several service areas to better support survivors, as well as continue to initiate the college’s prevention and response initiatives and education projects.