Prince George has one of the lowest percentages of unfounded sex assault cases in Canada, according to a Globe and Mail report.
Nationally, the average sits at 19 per cent, while Prince George sits at six per cent. An allegation is deemed unfounded when a police investigation establishes that a crime did not happen, according to Statistics Canada.
The Globe and Mail conducted a 20-month investigation into unfounded sex assaults, providing information from across Canada over a five-year span.
The newspaper reported a correlation between having a greater percentage of female police officers at a detachment and the lower number of unfounded cases.
In Prince George, there is a dedicated sex crimes unit consisting of a three-member team of specially-trained personnel.
"They are very proficient at investigating these types of offences," said RCMP Supt. Warren Brown.
Prince George also has a dedicated domestic crimes unit, consisting of a three-member team of specially-trained personnel.
"That's a collaborative unit that works with the Elizabeth Fry Society, Victim Services and the Ministry of Child and Family Development. Although domestic violence is a bit of an off-shoot, it often involves a lot of the same indicators and risk factors that we see in sex crimes," Brown said.
"It is another unit that is designated to provide specialty support to victims and through that we build a lot of trust and confidence in victims and as a result people come forward."
Both units are comprised entirely of female officers.
"It's not because I suggest for one minute that a woman has a better skill set than a man, but I think sometimes building trust and confidence and being able to relate to some of the vulnerabilities that some victims display - we make sure that we have the most sensitive investigative members in place," he said.
Sexual assaults can be recent or in the distant past.
Some people will come forward 15 or 20 years after the fact, ready to finally talk and knowing there are more supports in place now than there was long ago.
Brown offered the scenario of a typical process of a sexual assault.
"An assault will come to the attention of the police," he explained.
"It can be reported directly from a victim, or a family member, or information is provided third hand."
Once the Prince George RCMP receives a complaint, the police go gather evidence, looking at any issues that may be connected to the case.
"Once we have evidence, we can, on reasonable grounds, arrest somebody and then perhaps gain more information, which could be DNA, a statement, or some other form of physical tangible evidence," said Brown.
"Once we feel an offence has been committed and somebody is worthy of a charge, we submit the information to Crown."
Crown lawyers have charge approval authority, meaning they determine if there is substantial likelihood of conviction which merits the case being brought before the courts.
"In criminal court, it must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt so it is quite a high threshold given the pressure that courts have," said Brown.
"So that's the burden for Crown."
Brown also offered an example of what an unfounded sexual assault report could look like.
"So, yes, occasionally, it has been my experience as an investigator, there have been false assaults reported to us," he said.
Occasionally, people make a false report to save face and keep a relationship intact, he noted.
"A scenario might be where somebody comes home from a bar who had sex with somebody they met and the significant other now finds out and under fear or duress about being found out they disclose that and they say it was forced upon them."
The investigation can still be challenging even when police have a suspect in custody but that person maintains they did not commit a crime.
"And they are honest and say, yes, you will find my DNA because it was consensual," Brown explained. "Then when tougher questions are asked of the alleged victim their conscience tells them to admit they lied. Those are not common cases but could be an example of an unfounded complaint."
As a result, the number of sexual assault cases that result in a person actually being charged with the crime is also fairly low. In Prince George, it ranged from 15 and 20 per cent between 2010 and 2014.
"To get charge approval there has to be best evidence, there has to be tangible evidence that a crime was committed," said Brown.
"So if something happened 15 or 20 years ago there is likely no longer any evidence, unless there was a baby as a result of the assault, we've lost all DNA evidence, there are witnesses that perhaps aren't alive any more, so often times what we look for is a way to corroborate what people tell us."
The best evidence is tangible, like a bed sheet which contains DNA, a closed circuit video camera that has captured evidence of two people leaving a bar together in a specific make, model, and colour of car. When a crime was committed long ago, that evidence is not available to use in the case, added Brown.
"So then it boils down to 'he said, she said' and if you put that before the courts there is no way to get beyond a reasonable doubt," said Brown.
There are other circumstances that hinder charges as well.
"Often times if someone is intoxicated, or under the influence of drugs, or they've been drugged, they have no recollection," said Brown.
The alleged victim then has no ability to say what happened.
Then if the suspect says the act was consensual that presents a hurdle to proceed to a charge for an offence, said Brown.
"The frustrating thing for police is that we can only gather evidence that exists," said Brown.
"And I can't control what somebody else is going to say. If someone wants to say they thought it was consensual and here's why, that's what the courts have to deal with."
Brown pointed to the infamous Jian Ghomeshi case, where he faced multiple charges in relation to sexual assault against three complainants. He was found not guilty on all charges.
"Three victims come forward and say I was treated this way and Ghomeshi says it was consensual," said Brown.
What the Ghomeshi case has done is exposed how hard it is to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt but that doesn't mean the laws need to be changed in the superintendent's eyes.
"I think our laws are very sound, maybe some processes have to change," said Brown.
"Remember, if I'm charged with an offence, I am innocent until proven guilty."
The Prince George RCMP detachment gets 42,000 calls for service each year.
There are about 120 members in the detachment, including support staff and administration, so the number of operational staff goes down significantly, Brown said.
There's significant volume in caseload and officers are trained and encouraged to be as thorough and do the best job they can, he added.
"Certainly sex assaults are probably some of the most serious and significant criminal offences we have today in our community," said Brown.
"Apart from murders, I would have to say sex assaults are right in the top percentage for the most heinous crimes that are committed against us. The more heinous the crime, certainly the more skilled the unit or investigator that's assigned to look at that. The stolen garden gnome we take seriously but clearly, the more aggravated and egregious the offence, the more resources and thoroughness are going to go into that and we're going to throw everything and the kitchen sink at those files."
