Alberta Justice and Solicitor General released new guidelines May 25 which aim to improve how law enforcement investigates cases of sexual violence.
The new guidelines outline the best investigative procedures for cases of sexual violence, utilizing a trauma-informed approach that respects the impact of trauma on a survivor, according to a May 25 press release. The guidelines also include a list explaining the issues with common myths and stereotypes of sexual violence.
Alberta Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kathleen Ganley said in a May 25 press conference, a recording of which was provided, the guidelines will help ensure sexual violence is investigated in a way that treats survivors with dignity.
"It is a tool that will provide police officers across the province with a clear, consistent framework for conductive effective, throughout investigations into sexual assault," Ganley said. "At the same time, this new guide will help officers understand and respect the effects trauma can have."
The guideline manual is ready to use for Alberta police services and has been endorsed by the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police, according to a May 25 press release.
However, Ganley said in an interview it will be up to each police force to implement the guidelines, which are not mandatory.
"When you're dealing with sort of large groups of people, normally having people invested in the process and thinking it's the right thing to do is a much more effective way to get broader uptake than it is to simply mandate something, so that's what we've done here," Ganley said. "There will be a large uptake, but it's not mandatory."
Smaller RCMP detachments will likely have to familiarize the guidelines with all of its officers to implement them, Ganley said.
"A lot of the very small detachments of RCMP, in Alberta at least, they have sort of centralized training. They determine exactly how that rolls out," Ganley said.
The manual for the guidelines was created by the Sexual Violence Police Advisory Committee (SVPAC), a group formed in 2015 to improve institutional response to sexual violence, according to a May 25 press release. The committee includes representatives from the Government of Alberta, law enforcement and health services.
The Alberta Association of Sexual Assault Services was also part of the committee. Association CEO Deb Tomlinson said during the May 25 press conference announcing the guidelines that the amount of survivors who do not come forward to report sexual violence makes having consistent guidelines important.
"The majority of individuals who commit this crime are not held accountable," Tomlinson said. "Consistent guidelines for best practice in police investigation is imperative. It's not just in the interest of survivors. It's in the interest of safer and healthy communities, and that's something we can all strive for, that's something we can all benefit from."
SVPAC will continue to meet to keep the information in the manual up-to-date, Ganley said in an interview.
Having the information available and starting conversations about the myths of sexual violence will help improve how sexual violence is handled in the justice system, Ganley added.
"A large part of the problem in terms of investigations and in terms of prosecutions with these sorts of crime is there's still a lot of myths and stereotypes out there," Ganley said, adding it is an issue not only with the justice system but the entire population. "The more people understand these sorts of myths that they have, that they believe to be common sense, are in fact not true, I think the more the needle will move on that."
