Kelowna RCMP's 'deep' apology to victim of alleged sexual assault

• Victim takes matter to CRCC when officer failed to investigate
• RCMP Supt. agreed with victim's complaints
• Police vow to do better

The Superintendent of the Kelowna RCMP has issued an apology to a victim of alleged sexual violence who was told by an officer her complaint was 'not worth the time to investigate.'

Meanwhile, a Vancouver based advocacy group hopes the case will be a turning point for the Kelowna RCMP’s handling of sexual assault reports.

Supt. Kara Triance wrote to the victim to apologize, and this correspondence was shared with the media by Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter, which has supported the 20-year-old woman through her complaint process.

'Not worth the time to investigate'

The matter was investigated by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC).

The CRCC found Const. Lesley Smith had 'neglected her duty' and shown 'an improper attitude' when the victim first came forward. The woman, who was a resident advisor at UBC Okanagan Campus, alleged she was raped by a male resident advisor in September 2019. She reported the incident to Kelowna RCMP in May 2020.

Const. Smith told the alleged victim, in part, her complaint “was not worth the time to investigate” as she and the man had dated after the incident and the suspect “did not need to have his life ruined over a misunderstanding.”

Const. Smith also incorrectly documented on file that the complainant did not want to pursue charges. This was despite the complainant’s plea for an investigation into the alleged rape.

Const. Smith has retired from the RCMP.

RCMP 'deeply apologetic'

Supt. Triance supported the complainant’s allegations against the police officer.

In her apology, Triance said, in part: “As Kelowna’s commander, I am deeply apologetic that our initial response to this incident was not in line with our investigative standards, nor was it a trauma informed approach to sexual violence. Going forward we continue to invest in our officers, our supervisors, in training, and in processes of accountability and review.”

In a media release, she said the Kelowna RCMP have since assigned a Sex Crimes investigator to the investigation and a charge of sexual assault was recommended to the BC Prosecution Service.

“Since this incident, the Kelowna RCMP has taken many steps to do better, ensuring our Strategic Priorities have been designed with a victim-centred approach in mind,” Triance said.

Triance added, by 2023, Kelowna RCMP has set out to have all officers trained in a Trauma Informed Response to violence and to ensure their commitment to “Start by Believing” to improve outcomes for those impacted by violence and to ensure our officers standards of investigation are reflective of modern trauma science and research.

Public pressure needed to effect change

Sophia Hladik, a frontline worker with Vancouver Rape Relief and Women’s Shelter said, in part, poor police conduct towards rape victims is still very common in many police detachments across the province.

“We believe that only media exposure and consistent public pressure will force a transformative change in the criminal justice system and its response to violent crimes against women,” Hladik said.