Review of Saskatoon's unfounded sexual assaults released

Determining whether a sexual assault complaint is founded or not "can sometimes be a very subjective exercise."

That's according to retired Saskatoon police inspector Shelley Ballard, who reviewed 284 cases of sexual assault that police in Saskatoon deemed "unfounded" between 2011 and 2016. 

An "unfounded" label on a case means police investigated and the offence did not occur, nor was an offence attempted.

Unfounded cases never make it into records kept by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics.

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In just over a third of the cases she reviewed, Ballard agreed with investigators that no offence had been committed. Beyond that, she noted there were 78 false complaints, and another 44 cases where investigators ruled any sexual contact was consensual.

That troubles people who work with victims of sexual assault.

"For people that already have the mindset that maybe people do this to be malicious, that number can be really damaging for victims," said Lisa Miller, the executive director of the Regina Sexual Assault Centre. 

Miller said police often tell her clients they require more physical or medical evidence, or other individuals to corroborate a complaint of sexual assault.

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"Police and prosecutions are reluctant to move forward with it because there's very little chance of a conviction," Miller said. 

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Questions arise from review

Staff at Saskatoon's Sexual Assault Centre said they had numerous questions about Ballard's findings. They wanted more information about how she conducted her review before commenting further publicly.

Ballard also reviewed 49 complaints where she said a label of "founded, unable to substantiate" would have been a more suitable way to describe what happened.

"Determining if a file should be concluded 'Founded' or 'Unfounded' can sometimes be a very subjective exercise," she noted in her report to Saskatoon's Police Commission.

Changes needed to help victims, author says

"Some of it is just the way the system is set up," said Shana Maier, author of Rape, Victims, and Investigations: Experiences and Perceptions of Law Enforcement Officers Responding to Reported Rapes.

"Very, very few victims get a sense of justice going through the criminal justice system," said Maier. "It's just so disheartening."

She said police must ask complainants difficult questions, which traumatizes them again. She said adding an "unsubstantiated" category to police records would help victims feel their complaints are being taken seriously.

"Definitely there has to be the best possible language that can be used," said Maier. "I don't think unsubstantiated is great either, but I definitely think it's better than unfounded."