Stephan Drolet is the chief of the Saint John Police Force. (Image submitted/Saint John Police Force)
Saint John’s chief of police has issued a statement on the city’s response to sexual assault cases.
In 2017, a Globe and Mail investigation found the city marked 51 per cent of sexual assault allegations as “unfounded”.
The conversation was reopened on Twitter recently after residents asked for an update on the 2017 report.
Chief Stephan Drolet said in the statement that an internal review prompted the department to reevaluate its classification of statements. Since the change, the unfounded rate dropped to between 12 and 13 per cent over the past three years.
The statement did not include an explanation of the changes made to the classification system which led to the drastic change in numbers.
“We’ve worked closely with other Canadian forces to standardize the way we classify data to ensure we produce accurate studies and reporting that we can share with the community in a transparent way that allows for comparison and continued action,” Drolet wrote.
The statement cited a statistic that less than 1 in 20 sexual assault are reported to police.
Drolet encouraged survivors of sexual violence to come forward to police, either by phone (506) 648-3333, or by e-mail.
Statement from the Chief on sexual assault https://t.co/EHh6lan9CI
— Saint John Police (@saintjohnpolice) June 15, 2020
