2. ALGA 2014 Conference Concurrent Session Presentation Toronto Police Investigations of Sexual Assault Audit, Update, and Impact
Toronto Auditor General’s Office
Jeff Griffiths, CPA, CA, CFE - Auditor General
Jane Ying, CMA, CIA, CGAP - Senior Audit Manager

3. The Beginning …

4. The Beginning Summer 1986 Fifth reported sexual assault case
A serial sexual predator dubbed the “Balcony Rapist”
Assailant was arrested and sentenced to 20 years without parole. Recently released

6. The Lawsuit …

7. The Lawsuit Launched in 1987 against the Metropolitan Toronto Police
The case went to trial in 1997

8. The Lawsuit

9. The Lawsuit

10. The Ruling …

11. The Ruling Judge ruled in favour of Jane Doe
Jane Doe was awarded $220,000 plus interest totalling approximately $500,000

12. The Ruling Women should have been warned
Jane Doe and other women had been used as “bait”
Police investigation was “irresponsible and grossly negligent”

13. The Ruling

14. The Ruling

18. The Audit Request …

19. The Audit Request Council directed:
An audit be completed within 6 months
A women’s reference group be established to provide advice to the audit process
Reference group consisted of representatives from 18 women’s organizations

20. The Audit …

21. The Audit

22. The Audit

23. The Audit

24. The Audit

25. The Audit

26. The Audit 1999 Initial audit – 57 recommendations
st Follow-up audit – 25 recommendations
nd Follow-up audit – 6 outstanding and 3 new recommendations
2010 Report “The Review of the Investigation of Sexual Assaults – A Decade Later”
2013 Annual Follow-up - full implementation

27. The Impacts – “Template for Real Change”

28. The Impacts

29. The Impacts
“On paper, the police supported all these recommendations, but reports from the front line pointed to little progress. So I proposed an audit of police practices on sexual assault investigations. The author of the audit was Jeffrey Griffiths, the city’s own financial auditor, who had consulted with almost two dozen groups – including the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre – that work with women who have been sexually assaulted. What an extraordinary document it was.”
“This audit and the report that followed it became a template for real change in the handling of sexual assault cases in Toronto.”
Excerpts from “My Journey, A MEMOIR, by Olivia Chow, 2014

30. The Impacts – Changes to Police Investigative Procedures
Previous
Investigations were not always conducted by investigators trained in sexual assault investigations
Current
All sexual assault investigations are required to be conducted by accredited sexual assault investigators

31. The Impacts – Changes to the Sex Crimes Unit
Previous
Mandate was restricted to assaults where the offender was unknown to the woman
Current
Use a risk assessment approach to determine cases to be investigated by the Unit

32. The Impacts – Changes to the Sex Crimes Unit
Previous
Former Sexual Assault Squad investigated about 4% of all reported cases of sexual assault each year
Current
Revised mandate resulted in investigating significantly more cases

33. The Impacts – Changes to Police Training
Previous
Sexual Assault investigative training was a 5-day combined course with the child abuse investigator training
Current
Stand alone 10-day training course

34. The Impacts – Changes to Police Investigative Procedures
Previous
Women were not regularly informed of the investigation progress
Current
Officers are required to maintain consistent and regular contact with women

35. The Impacts – Changes to community warning policy
Previous
No written protocol on community warning about a sexual predator
Current
Protocol and procedures to ensure appropriate release of information and language

36. The Impacts – Changes to ViCLAS submissions
Previous
Significant delays in submitting reports to the provincial ViCLAS centre
Current
Nearly 100% of reports were submitted within the required time frame

37. The Impacts – Changes to Police Investigative Procedures
Previous
First-response officers could determine a sexual assault complaint as “unfounded”
Current
Only a sexual assault investigator can classify a complaint as “unfounded”

38. The Impacts – Changes to the Sex Crimes Unit
Previous
Hours of operation (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) did not align with the period of time most assaults took place
Current
Operating hours expanded to provide coverage from 7 a.m. to midnight

39. The Impacts – Changes to Police Investigative Procedures
Previous
Women were interviewed in detail by first-response officers
Current
First-response officers collect only basic information

40. The Impacts – Changes to Police Investigative Procedures
Previous
Women were asked to provide lengthy and detailed statements soon after the assaults
Current
Provision for delaying the taking of detailed statements

41. The Impacts – Changes to Police Investigative Procedures
Previous
Women were not offered a choice with respect to the gender of the investigator conducting the interview
Current
Where operationally possible, women are provided with an interviewer of their choice

42. The Impacts – Changes to Police Investigative Procedures
Previous
Women might need to deal with different officers before and after medical examination at hospital
Current
Officers are required to remain at the hospital until completion of the medical examination

43. The Impacts – Changes to Public Information
Previous
Police web page contained limited information relevant to victims of sexual assaults
Current
More relevant information was provided on the police web page

44. The Far Reaching Impacts …

45. The Far Reaching Impacts

46. The Far Reaching Impacts

47. The Far Reaching Impacts

48. The Far Reaching Impacts - The RCMP Perspective

50. The Far Reaching Impacts

51. The Far Reaching Impacts

52. The Far Reaching Impacts

53. The Far Reaching Impacts

54. The Far Reaching Impacts
Set a precedent for social audits
Benefits to other police services in Canada and the US including the RCMP
Value of an independent audit with community input

55. What We Learned …

56. What we learned
“If the audit was not going to be accountable to us, the stakeholders, the women doing the work, we didn’t care if it went ahead or not. We were prepared to walk out, and we challenged his ability and motives. Griffiths didn’t retreat. He was always clear about the audit and its carriage being his and his alone, but he allowed the process to be as accountable as possible. Which was as good as it was going to get.”
Excerpt from “The Story of Jane Doe”

57. What we learned Working with: The reference group The police
Elected officials