The Kitimat RCMP has agreed to include a note in its crime reporting to acknowledge the widespread underreporting of sexual assaults. The commitment was made at the council meeting on Jan. 20, during an RCMP presentation on the year-end crime stats in Kitimat. Councillor Michelle Martins urged the detachment to provide context on the statistics to help encourage survivors to come forward.
"The RCMP recognizes that we can do more to support sexual assault investigations," said Staff Sgt. Graham Morgan. "We have mandatory training that officers are taking right now. We also have an external review committee that looks at our files to ensure they meet standards."
The Kitimat RCMP responded to 21 sexual assault offences last year, comparted to 12 in 2023 and 21 also in 2022.
Martins said she finds the reported statistics on sexual assault "very upsetting," not as a reflection of RCMP efforts, but because of broader systemic challenges. Drawing from her experience with a local support organization, she highlighted the barriers survivors face in seeking justice.
"In my time at Tamitic Status of Women, I saw the organization support hundreds of sexual assault survivors, many of whom I worked with directly—children and adults alike," she said. "Out of hundreds of survivors, maybe a handful saw their cases go to trial. But not once did I see a client get justice."
She asked the RCMP to consider adding some kind of disclaimer in its reporting to reflect that sexual assault remains the most underreported crime.
"It’s a good time to look at that," Morgan responded. "As we head into the new year, we can make that change to our monthly report."
Councillor Gerry Leibel also raised concerns about barriers preventing survivors from reporting sexual violence, asking whether the Kitimat detachment had a tailored approach to make reporting easier.
"We’ve become better at recognizing trauma-informed practice," Morgan said. "That’s a term we’ve only recently started using, but now our officers are trained in it. It’s one of the fundamental principles we apply when speaking to victims."
Morgan added that the detachment has a victim services worker to support survivors during the investigation and through the court process.
Leibel also asked whether female officers were available to respond to sexual assault reports.
"It’s preferable to have a female officer attend when possible," Morgan said. "But right now, we only have three female officers. I’ve requested more female officers to be posted here."