Some RCMP officers still aren't taking sexual assault claims seriously enough, watchdog says

The civilian watchdog agency overseeing the RCMP routinely takes Mounties to task for bungling sexual assault investigations, despite the RCMP's promises to do better.

A spokesperson for the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) for the RCMP said the agency has issued 43 "adverse findings" — conclusions that were unfavourable to the RCMP — in cases involving sexual assault investigations since 2019.

Some of those case files have been posted online, with names and locations redacted for privacy reasons. 

CBC's analysis of the CRCC's findings and recommendations shows many RCMP officers still fail to take sexual assault allegations seriously and struggle with matters of consent.

The RCMP, for its part, said it is updating its operational manual for sexual assault investigations, providing online training for such scenarios and has made trauma-informed training mandatory for employees who deal with the public.

One of the cases posted online, completed in 2021, involved a woman who reported that a truck driver who had picked her up when she was hitchhiking later pushed her out of the truck when she refused his sexual advances. According to a summary of the case file that was made public by the CRCC, bystanders found the woman injured at the side of the road and called 911.

The CRCC summary says that when the woman went to an RCMP detachment, she took questions from investigators and met with the forensic sketch artist. Her interview with RCMP officers lasted approximately six and a half hours, including breaks.

The summary says that after the sketch artist completed his drawing, he informed the woman that he was an RCMP officer and began to challenge her on the truthfulness of her account.

The sketch artist and the lead investigator then both questioned the woman about her memory and emotional state, said the CRCC.

The woman complained about the sketch artist's behaviour to the RCMP, which said it did not support her allegations.

The CRCC then became involved and, according to its case summary, concluded the investigation was "conducted unreasonably."

"The commission found that some of the RCMP members' approach and questioning of the woman was based on inappropriate myths and stereotypes about the conduct of sexual assault victims," reads the case summary.

"One example of such questioning involved comparing the woman's behaviour to a preconceived notion of how she 'should' react. The Commission noted that it is widely recognized in law that there is no uniform or predictable victim response to a sexual assault."

In another RCMP case summarized by the CRCC, a woman reported that a man had touched her genital area over her clothes without her consent.