‘We have to hold ourselves accountable’: RNC chief

Royal Newfoundland Constabulary Chief Joe Boland has acknowledged a systemic issue within the force contributed to the allegations of sexual assault by police officers that have come to light this week.

Boland took questions from The Telegram Friday about information from more than a dozen women who have come forward to local lawyer Lynn Moore saying RNC officers — eight in total — sexually assaulted them while on duty. Moore says the information she has received dates back at least six years and only one of the accused officers is still working with the RNC.

None of the women are interested in filing criminal reports or otherwise engaging with the criminal justice system, Moore says.

RNC Supt. Tom Warren told reporters earlier in the week Boland was unable to address questions related to the allegations because he had been directly contacted by two of the women and was therefore a potential witness. He did not say when Boland had been contacted.

The most recent allegations come two months after RNC Const. Doug Snelgrove was found guilty by a jury of sexually assaulting a woman he gave a ride home while on duty. Many of the women who have spoken to Moore have described similar crimes.

Warren said the RNC has received four complaints of sexual assault by its members in the past five years, and each of them were investigated by an outside agency. Criminal charges were not laid in either case, he said, and three of the four officers involved are no longer with the force.

While women’s advocates have called for recognition from the RNC of an institutional culture that fosters gender-based violence, saying the pattern of recent reports indicates more than just a few “bad apples” in the police force, Warren and government officials have stopped short of calling the problem systemic, saying they intend to take steps to investigate first. The province is considering an inquiry or an RNC workplace review, giving the women making the reports time to consider their options first.

Boland confirmed Friday he is addressing the issue as systemic. He said he feels the same culture within the RNC led to a non-confidence vote against him last year by RNC officers.

“Obviously it’s a concern. One allegation is a concern,” Boland said of the sexualassault reports.

Boland, who was appointed in 2017 and is set to retire next week, was the subject of a non-confidence vote held by the RNC Association last June, in which 90 per cent of respondents indicated they were unhappy with his leadership. At the time Boland issued a news release calling the vote an attempt to discredit him and an effort by “noisy malcontents” to avoid accountability and oppose changes he had made within the force.

“Everything was going good until the discipline started and I think now when you go back and look at (the vote) you can see it was important to me for this reason. The only way that the public can have confidence in us is we have to hold ourselves accountable. I think that was critical,” Boland said.

“I think I’ve built an office here (where) people who are victims, especially women, had trusted me to come forward and that hasn’t been an easy process.”

Sexual-assault victims and survivors will always have control over the files when they make a formal complaint, Boland said.

During Snelgrove’s trials the court heard the RNC has a generally accepted procedure but no solid policy when it comes to its members transporting lone women or vulnerable people in their vehicles.

Boland said he issued an order at the start of the week banning officers from transporting civilians except in cases of emergency, and in those instances the officers must radio in to report their location, odometer reading and destination before and after they go anywhere. An official policy to that effect will be issued next week, he said.

Warren said RNC officers have been actively discouraged from giving civilians rides and encouraged anyone offered a drive by a police officer to report it. A number of RNC members have told reporters the practice of giving people rides is a common one and officers have always been asked to radio in with details if they do it.

Multiple RNC officers have spoken to The Telegram this week about feeling angry and embarrassed about the alleged actions of their colleagues, and wanted to stress to the public there are plenty of them in the force who are committed to their jobs and affronted by the possibility that some of their co-workers could be guilty of sexual assault.

“Unfortunately, I think on the short term there’s going to be significant pain for them, but I do think that down the road here, you’re going to see an organization that’s stronger than it’s ever been,” Boland said.

Laura Winters, executive director of the St. John’s Status of Women Council and Women’s Centre, said the issue is not about individual officers.

“It’s about the lack of recognition or accountability from the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to date, of their upholding and participating in a culture of misogyny and corruption where sexual and gender-based violence persists,” she said July 22.

To members of the community who might fear or distrust the RNC, Boland said the force is committed to working with its community partners.

“Give us a chance to rebuild that confidence that’s critical not just to the RNC but to the community,” he said.

Winters said any effort to rebuild confidence must start with complete transparency and include tangible measures of accountability, and solid definitions of the steps being taken for permanent change.

“You can certainly not resolve this by training alone,” she said. “There has been a huge amount of harm done here, in terms of trust of the RNC (by) the general public and especially for survivors of sexual assault.”

Winters reiterated the

St. John’s Status of Women Council’s call to defund Canadian police forces, including the RNC.

“Sustainable institutional change for survivors of sexual violence does not include inflated investment in harmful institutions like the RNC and instead should involve diverting resources to the community supports survivors turn to in seeking safety,” she said.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Sexual Assault Crisis and Prevention Centre offers a 24-hour support and information line: 1-800-7262743.