Alberta RCMP Sexual Assault Investigations Review Committees

In 2017, the RCMP created a team in Ottawa to review the divisional reports, assess all aspects of sexual assault investigations, consult with external stakeholders, partners and experts, and provide direction on how to improved RCMP investigations into these serious crimes. Since the publication of The Way Forward: The RCMP's Sexual Assault Review and Victim Support Action Plan, the RCMP has developed a framework that will allow RCMP divisions to establish external review committees. Establishing external sexual assault review committees is an important accountability mechanism that has proven beneficial to many police organizations in North America. The RCMP's approach to external review is based on the principles of already established external review models. Some modifications and enhancements to the RCMP approach will allow the RCMP to respect federal Privacy Act requirements, while ensuring transparency through the measurement of results.

The Alberta RCMP's Sexual Assault Investigations Review Committee (SAIRC) has become an important extension of the sexual assault investigation process, ensuring investigations are complete, timely, impartial and properly classified.

SAIRC is mandated to:

• make case-specific recommendations which could lead to the file being re-classified and/or the re-opening/taking further investigative actions for cases determined to have deficiencies that may impact the outcome of the investigation; and
• make broad-based recommendations to improve the RCMP's response to complaints of sexual assault and enhance RCMP policies, procedures and training.

Alberta RCMP's SAIRC aims to meet quarterly throughout the province to review concluded files not cleared by criminal charges. The working relationship with SAIRC is beneficial to ensuring the RCMP is aligned with victim-centered and trauma-informed principals.

Date modified:

2022-04-07