This report provides a summary of the work undertaken to implement the 52 recommendations included in the Missing Women Working Group’s September 2010 summary report and January 2012 comprehensive report.
Background:
In 2006, Federal, Provincial and Territorial Deputy Ministers Responsible for Justice (Deputies) approved the establishment of the Missing Women Working Group (MMWG) to review issues related to the high number of murdered and missing women in Canada. The MWWG had representation from British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Canada and included police, prosecutor, criminal law policy and social science perspectives. The MWWG’s summary report containing 52 recommendations was publicly released by Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Justice (Ministers) at their October 2010 meeting. At their January 2012 meeting, Ministers approved the public release of the MWWG’s more comprehensive report, containing the same 52 recommendations.
The summary report can be found at:
830992005_e1MAJ-2112011-6827.pdf
The comprehensive report can be found at:
831-016005-we11HOP-1262012-7454.pdf
The MWWG was then directed to develop an implementation plan for its 52 recommendations. The MWWG was also directed to complete a review of the need for an offence to deal with preparatory conduct involved in facilitating sexual offences, consistent with recommendation 8 of the MWWG Report (discussed below). The results of this review were presented to Deputies in June 2013.
Scope of the Missing Women Working Group Report:
The MWWG considered a wide range of issues associated with the effective identification, investigation and prosecution of cases involving missing women, some of whom had been victims of serial killers. The MWWG reviewed the vulnerability of women working alone or in other high risk situations, including in the sex trade. The MWWG focused on the best ways to address historical homicides, the early detection of potential serial murderers, the approach to treatment of such offenders, strategies to protect persons who have a high likelihood of being victimized by these predators and actions needed to support an effective response to cases of missing women.
The goals identified by the MWWG were to:
- Share information and expertise with personnel across Canada who are responsible for identifying, investigating and prosecuting these cases.
- Develop strategies and proposals that would assist in addressing current barriers that hinder the resolution of cases involving victims of serial predators.
- Promote the development of resources and training to assist personnel who are responsible for handling cases of missing and murdered persons.
To support implementation of the recommendations following release of the final report in 2012, MWWG representatives made presentations to the following groups: Heads of Corrections, Heads of Prosecution, the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Policing and Public Safety Steering Committee, the Steering Committee on Justice Efficiencies and the report was referred to the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Directors of Victims Services and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
This report provides a summary of the actions taken to implement the 52 recommendations under the following themes: addressing vulnerability (recommendations 1 to 4), addressing predators (recommendations 5 to 12), police responses (recommendations 13 to 29), criminal investigations (recommendations 30 to 42), prevention, victim support and safety planning (recommendations 43 and 44), role of the media (recommendations 45 to 50); and, trial process (recommendations 51 and 52). The 52 recommendations are attached as Appendix A to this report.
Addressing Vulnerability (Recommendations 1 to 4):
These recommendations concern risks posed to isolated workers, risks associated with hitchhiking, the enhancement of women’s personal safety, as well as community safety generally, through risk assessments and community safety plans.
Implementation:
- Some jurisdictions have made legislative amendments to ensure that employers assess or respond to the needs of employees who work in isolated work places (e.g., amendments to the Ontario Occupations Health and Safety Act in this regard came into force In June 2010).
- Public Safety Canada has supported the development of community safety plans, which involve enhancing capacity at the local level and community mobilization. The Native Women’s Association of Canada (NWAC) has also provided safety training for Aboriginal women and girls across Canada. As well, provincial jurisdictions have supported this approach (e.g., the Manitoba Integrated Task Force on Missing and Murdered Exploited Persons - Project Devote and Saskatchewan Provincial Partnership on Missing Persons recommend individual and community safety planning).
Addressing Predators (Recommendations 5 to 12):
These recommendations support continued research on criminal sexual predation, monitoring/ risk assessments of sexual offenders, social support and intervention, preparatory conduct involved in facilitating sexual offences and law enforcement training.
Implementation:
- The MWWG’s recommendations addressing corrections issues, including monitoring and risk assessment, were presented to the Heads of Corrections.
- The MWWG reviewed preparatory conduct involved in facilitating sexual offences, in response to recommendation 8 of the MWWG Report, which recommends that there be consideration by federal, provincial and territorial officials to better provide the tools needed to address preparatory conduct involved in facilitating sexual offences under the Criminal Code. The results of their review were presented to Deputies at their June 2013 meeting.
Police Responses (Recommendations 13 to 29):
These recommendations concern police responses to cases involving missing women, including: consistency in police practices such as national reporting, coordination of missing person complaints, investigations and data entry in missing persons files; tailoring responses to the Aboriginal context; support for families of missing women; the development of legislation that would allow police access to personal information of persons reported missing; and, the creation of national databases for police information on missing persons and unidentified human remains.
Implementation:
- In fall 2011, the National Centre for Missing Persons and Unidentified Human Remains (NCMPUR) was established as a division of the RCMP’s Canadian Police Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (CPCMEC). The NCMPUR has developed and manages a national public website, www.canadasmissing.ca / www.disparus-canada.ca, which contains profiles of missing children, missing persons and unidentified remains. The website provides the public with an avenue through which to submit tips on cases with a view to advancing these investigations. The website was launched in January 2013.
- The Canada’s Missing website is designed to allow members of the public to search the published profiles using various factors including various biometrics.
The public can also print posters of published profiles in either official language directly from the website which can then be posted throughout the community bringing attention to specific cases locally.
- The NCMPUR is currently developing the national Missing Children/Persons and Unidentified Remains (MC/PUR) Database, the first national police database specifically for missing persons and unidentified remains.
Specially trained investigative centers will be designated to access MC/PUR in order to provide Canadian police, medical examiners and chief coroners with more comprehensive information on these cases across jurisdictions. This database is expected to be operational in 2013.
- The NCMPUR is currently developing training for police investigators. This training will include online as well as in-class training. The first online components of the training have been made available in both official languages as of January 2013 through the Canadian Police Knowledge Network (CPKN) as follows:
- 1. MPUR: Child Abduction – Amber Alert
- 2. MPUR: Child Abduction – Applicable Legislation & Charging Guidelines.
- Three additional courses, designed for Level 1 Investigators in the areas of missing children, missing adults and unidentified remains are being created at this time.
- The NCMPUR, in partnership with the Canadian Police College, also piloted an Advanced Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains Investigators Course in March 2012. Subsequent advanced Courses will be planned once the remaining online training components have been developed.
- NCMPUR personnel include an experienced Aboriginal police officer linked to the RCMP’s National Aboriginal Policing Services in order to ensure a focus on the specific issue of missing Aboriginal persons.
- In consultation with investigators from Missing Persons and Unidentified Remains units in Canada, the NCMPUR has created a Best Practices document to facilitate a consistent approach to missing persons investigations across Canada. Published in the fall of 2013, this document is available to Canadian police services as well as to coroners and medical examiners in Canada.
- Jurisdictions have also taken steps to implement consistent police practices (e.g., the Saskatchewan Police Commission issued common policy and reporting forms to be followed by all police in Saskatchewan in 2013).
- Other websites have been developed by organizations that provide tools and information to families of missing persons, including Project Kare (Alberta), Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police website www.sacp.ca, and Native Women’s Association of Canada www.nwac-hq.org.
- In some jurisdictions, the mandate of victims’ service units has been expanded to include families of missing persons (e.g., Manitoba Justice – Victim Service’s Family Liaison, co-located with the Manitoba Integrated Task Force on Missing and Murdered Exploited Persons - Project Devote).
- Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba have enacted provincial legislation that authorizes police access to personal information of persons reported missing to support police investigations. The Uniform Law Conference of Canada has been asked to develop uniform legislation for the consideration of all jurisdictions.
- Many police services are assigning specialized positions within police agencies to manage and investigate missing persons cases.
Criminal Investigations (Recommendations 30 to 42)
These recommendations address: the development of standardized training for police; sharing of best practices by police; feasibility of a missing persons index including DNA; reviewing ViClas to consider enhanced linkages; the use of specialized tools to address serial offenders; the use of compatible major case management systems; early Crown involvement in missing persons cases where foul play is suspected; and, funding to deal with cold cases.
Implementation:
- The recommendations in this section address law enforcement operational matters. The NCMPUR Best Practices document addresses areas that have proven problematic in terms of investigations or activities which are not necessarily applied consistently across Canada
- In terms of “cold cases”, the NCMPUR is in the process of planning its next Multi-Disciplinary Multi-Agency Missing Persons Investigations Initiative (MMMII). Building on a pilot event held in March 2012 whereby subject matter experts and police investigators were brought together to identify avenues for specific cases where primary investigators felt they had exhausted all investigative avenues, the MMMII is planned for early 2104.
- Ontario currently employs a linked Major Case Management System and the RCMP is considering compatible Major Case Management system.
Prevention, Victim Support and Safety Planning (Recommendations 43 and 44):
These recommendations concern encouraging community mobilization in urban communities with high populations of vulnerable women and girls, support for jurisdictions to consider using Aboriginal liaison officers to work with Aboriginal families, wherever possible, and the development and implementation of protocols by police and Aboriginal organizations/agencies for working together with Aboriginal families and communities.
Implementation:
- Some jurisdictions have implemented community capacity building and community mobilization projects, such as BC. Jurisdictions implementing this approach and evaluating them will be encouraged to continue to share their findings.
- The NCMPUR Best Practices document emphasizes the importance of liaising with family and, where appropriate, community leaders.
Role of the Media (Recommendations 45 to 50):
These recommendations concern: the development of effective media plans, including the development of best practices between the police and media, as well as between prosecution and victim service organizations; circumventing interaction between media and the offender; and, ensuring judicial support of media plans in complex trials.
Implementation:
- The NCMPUR Best Practices document specifically addresses elements for consideration in the development of media strategies for these types of investigations.
- The sharing of the MWWG report with Heads of Prosecution, the Policing and Public Safety Committee and FPT Directors of Victims Services have promoted an awareness of the importance of involving and managing the media in these sensitive cases.
Trial Process (Recommendations 51 and 52):
These recommendations concern victim/witness support during the trial process and the vicarious trauma that may be experienced by investigators and prosecutors working closely with offensive material.
Implementation:
- The MWWG report has been shared with the Policing and Public Safety Steering Committee, Heads of Prosecution and the FPT Directors of Victims Services Working Group for follow up in their respective areas of responsibility.
Appendix A – Recommendations of the Missing Women Working Group
Recommendation # 1
The MWWG recommends that FPT Ministers Responsible for Justice encourage Ministers responsible for work place health and safety to ensure that all employers assess the risk factors that may make isolated employees vulnerable to serial predators within work environments and develop safety plans with employees in order to promote safety and reduce risk of harm.
Recommendation # 2
The MWWG recommends that municipalities and First Nations, as appropriate, work with relevant community agencies and police to establish programs at key places where women rely heavily on hitchhiking, and incorporate strategies such as the shuttle bus transportation system recommended in the
Highway of Tears Report.
Recommendation # 3
The MWWG recommends that:
- Jurisdictions work with justice system partners such as local police; community justice services; Aboriginal court workers; and victims’ services to support Aboriginal communities and organizations to assess safety risks to Aboriginal women and to develop local plans to respond to those risks.
- As a priority Aboriginal organizations or organizations that work with high-risk Aboriginal populations be funded to support individual or group safety planning awareness and engagement, taking into account, in particular, the specific barriers women face, and their lack of protections on or off reserve.
Recommendation # 4
The MWWG recommends that the FPT Community Safety and Crime Prevention Working Group should be asked to examine the need to make the personal safety of women a priority, with particular consideration given to those factors shown to increase the risk of violence from predators.
Recommendation # 5
The MWWG recommends that FPT Ministers Responsible for Justice consider undertaking or encouraging the continuation of research into the escalation of violence in criminal sexual predation as related to risk assessment processes.
Recommendation # 6
The MWWG recommends that FPT Ministers Responsible for Justice, in cooperation with other partners, should continue to provide adequate levels of monitoring, social support and intervention to sex offenders to interrupt patterns of serial predation.
Recommendation # 7
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions support research that monitors and evaluates the efficacy of measuring levels of psychopathy in offenders as a means of intervention
.
Recommendation # 8
The MWWG recommends that there be consideration by federal, provincial and territorial officials to better provide the tools needed to address preparatory conduct involved in facilitating sexual offences under the
Criminal Code.
Recommendation # 9
The MWWG recommends that FPT Ministers Responsible for Justice
direct officials to engage in discussions with health professionals and other affected professional bodies to ensure that the existing protocols and legislation in each jurisdiction are adequate to address the public safety exemptions or whether legislative changes are required.
Recommendation # 10
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions support the use of risk assessment and monitoring of serious offenders, and support the work of Corrections authorities to continue improving these approaches.
Recommendation # 11
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage law enforcement training authorities to include in police training information about the multiple factors that are characteristic of individuals who commit serial sexual offences.
Recommendation # 12
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions provide support to justice institutions, including correctional facilities and forensic psychiatric institutions, to develop and implement research-based therapeutic interventions that have the potential to interrupt paraphilic fantasies and the escalation of violence in sexual offenders.
Recommendation # 13
- The MWWG recommends that Ministers ask the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police to consider a national strategy to ensure consistency in reporting mechanisms for reporting missing persons. This could be developed in conjunction with implementation of a National Data Base.
- The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions work with law enforcement/police agencies to ensure that the public is made aware of reporting practices for missing persons in their jurisdiction; to evaluate the adequacy of current educational mechanisms; and consider how to make information more accessible through websites. This could include a national public education campaign about missing persons’ issues and police policies and procedures in order to change misconceptions.
Recommendation # 14
In order to increase the likelihood that disappearance of marginalized women will be reported in a timely fashion, the MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage police to develop specialized positions or specific units within police agencies so that:
- knowledgeable personnel are given clear responsibility for contact with families and the public in missing person reports; and
- identified police personnel can link with vulnerable communities to increase awareness about reporting missing persons, specifically to:
- let people know that the reporting of a missing person is not limited to immediate family members, and;
- reassure individuals who may be associated with criminal lifestyles that they can access police services and report a disappearance without fear of arrest.
Recommendation # 15
The MWWG supports the Saskatchewan
Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons’ Report in urging that police continually communicate with families of missing persons in order to provide ongoing updates to them on the status of the case.
Recommendation # 16
The MWWG supports the recommendation made in the Saskatchewan
Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons’ Report that tools be created for use as an information resource for families of the missing and/or murdered, such as a simple checklist for families to follow that outlines steps they could take during investigation and prosecution of the case.
Recommendation # 17
Building on recommendations in the Saskatchewan Report, the MWWG recommends that jurisdictions give consideration to an expansion of the Victims Services mandate to include provision of support to families of missing persons, and that protocols be developed between police and victim services for engagement and support of the families once that need has been identified.
Recommendation # 18
The MWWG encourages FPT Ministers Responsible for Justice to ensure that police in their respective jurisdictions create appropriate standards for missing person cases, including that:
- A report is taken immediately when information comes to the attention of police, regardless of the length of time the person has been missing or the location where the person went missing.
- A standardized, specialized in-take form for recording a missing person report and a specialized investigative checklist is used.
Recommendation # 19
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions support and encourage police to develop, as recommended in the Saskatchewan
Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons report:
- A common assessment tool to help assess the priority of the investigation.
- A practice of entering cases on CPIC as soon as possible after it is established that the person is missing.
Recommendation # 20
The MWWG recommends that FPT governments consider the need for legislation that would allow police access to personal information of persons reported missing.
Recommendation # 21
The MWWG recommends that FPT governments support training and education for personnel responsible for records in departments of health, social assistance, and other government agencies to be aware of the need for timely police access to records in cases of missing persons and to encourage development of protocols for the sharing of that information relative to permissible legislative exceptions such as “law enforcement
purposes.”
Recommendation # 22
The MWWG recommends that FPT Ministers Responsible for Justice support, as a priority, the work of the Multi-Provincial Strategy on Missing Persons & Unidentified Remains to establish a national missing person database containing both police missing person information and information on unidentified human remains. This database should be accessible to and searchable by both police and coroners or medical examiners, with designated sections accessible to the public by website.
Recommendation # 23
In order to target police resources effectively, the MWWG recommends that jurisdictions support, where appropriate, police consideration of:
- developing approaches to target high risk youth;
- establishing collaborative approaches with relevant non-police agencies to assess the level of police intervention required in
particular missing person cases, such as chronic run-away children;
- setting policies and procedures consistent with the involvement of and advice from the relevant non-police agencies;
- evaluating approaches currently in use in order to determine the gains, if any, in efficiencies and effectiveness in responding to missing persons reports, and;
- sharing the results of evaluations on collaborative operational polices with other interested police agencies.
Recommendation # 24
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions support the recommendations of the Saskatchewan
Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons’ Report that the police develop media and public communications protocols to implement best practices to disseminate information about missing persons and to request the public’s help in locating a missing person.
Recommendation # 25
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions support the following Saskatchewan
Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons recommendation:
- All police forces should assign a police officer responsible for the coordination of missing persons’ files and establish a backup process to avoid gaps in effectively responding to missing person reports, in conjunction with recommendation 14 that calls for the identification of a specific unit within police services.
Recommendation #26
The MWWG recommends that FPT Ministers Responsible for Justice support further exploration of the recommendation by the Saskatchewan
Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons that a more systematic and comprehensive approach be taken to data collection on missing persons in Canada and that the Ministers ask the CACP to consider the following approaches with respect to data entry/collection:
- Use of a common intake and investigation forms;
- Increased reporting of missing persons cases onto CPIC; and
- Aggregate reporting from police reports at the local, provincial/territorial or national level subject to resources.
Recommendation # 27
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions:
- review the police response to missing Aboriginal person cases to understand barriers (cultural and systemic) to reporting and investigation and determine how police responses could be improved.
- encourage police to consider the need to develop standardized police intake forms and appropriate assessment criteria based on the risk profile of Aboriginal women and other marginalized women to ensure an appropriate and consistent police response.
Recommendation # 28
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage police forces to work with Aboriginal organizations to develop and disseminate tools and information about the reporting process for missing women that reflects different literacy levels and is available in a range of languages/formats.
Recommendation # 29
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage police training on missing person investigations to incorporate specific information respecting Aboriginal people and particularly Aboriginal women, in order to enhance cultural sensitivity and mitigate any potential distrust on behalf of the families caused by past relationships.
Recommendation # 30
The MWWG recommends that cases matching the profile of women particularly vulnerable to serial predators be flagged as priority cases when a missing person report is received.
Recommendation # 31
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage police, as recommended in the Saskatchewan
Provincial Partnership Committee on Missing Persons’ Report
, to develop standardized training and practice guides for recording and managing investigations in missing person cases.
Recommendation # 32
The MWWG recommends that a move toward compatible MCM software be considered by police agencies across Canada in order to coordinate between police agencies in major investigations.
Recommendation # 33
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage police forces, as they develop improvements to MCM, to also explore strategies that would promote sharing these best practices with other police forces in a timely manner.
Recommendation # 34
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions conduct a feasibility study on the development of a voluntary database containing information on individuals considered to be at high risk of going missing, including developing criteria for such a database; and that the federal government lead the feasibility study, including a review of any legislative authority required for the collection and use of this information.
Recommendation # 35
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions support further consideration of the feasibility and utility of a Missing Persons Index, including potential resolutions to privacy concerns relating to the possible cross-matching feature of the sub-indices, and also subject to the ongoing review of the DNA Data Bank scheme.
Recommendation # 36
The MWWG recommends that Ministers recommend to CACP that they support local and national police agencies in developing a strategy to raise awareness and use of all available databases by considering the development of a national police electronic resource, such as a web page, containing current information on available databases as well as resources such as those contained by National Flagging Coordinators on specific offenders for use in investigations of serial homicides, and a description of each with contacts for additional information.
Recommendation # 37
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage,
- where appropriate, police forces to review the resources and policies relevant to ViCLAS in order to increase and maintain the coverage of serious crimes within this system, and to ensure that trained specialists are available to provide analysis to investigators;
- police investigators, who receive a “potential linkage” report from ViCLAS, to follow up with additional investigation on a timely basis ;
- police investigators and forensic lab personnel, when they receive notification that a DNA linkage has been made on an outstanding case, to advise ViCLAS so that the ViCLAS personnel can update their database.
Recommendation # 38
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage police agencies across Canada to:
- consider strategies to promote the empirical testing of specialized tools for narrowing the field of suspects in cases involving serial predators.
- consider mechanisms for sharing current research information and promising practices relevant to these specialized tools, including profiling and instruments to assist in the assessment of potential suspects in serial murder cases.
Recommendation # 39:
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions consider the provision of targeted funding to police agencies to ensure that there are adequate resources for dealing with cold case files.
Recommendation # 40
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage police forces to examine policies on releasing information on ‘cold cases’ to media and ‘co-victims’, with a view to determining the best strategies for determining how and when to provide this information in order to advance investigations and to provide assurance to families and friends that appropriate attention is being given to the case.
Recommendation # 41
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions review their record retention policies for police, prosecutions and courts with a view to assessing the extent to which access to historical records would assist in solving cases, such as the identification leading to new DNA samples being collected for those historical cases and thus linking them to DNA crime scenes on other unsolved cases.
Recommendation # 42
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions give consideration to the incorporation of early Crown involvement on suspicious missing persons’ files where foul play is suspected.
Recommendation # 43
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions consider testing and evaluating community mobilization processes, such as adaptations of the Community Solutions to Gang Violence initiative in urban communities with a high population of vulnerable women.
Recommendation # 44
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage and support, as appropriate, police services to consider using an Aboriginal liaison officer to work with Aboriginal families, wherever possible, and police and Aboriginal organizations/agencies to develop and implement protocols for working together and with Aboriginal families and communities.
Recommendation # 45
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions encourage police investigators involved in cases of missing or murdered women to design and implement effective media plans in order to ensure proactive and strategic use of media sources for educating and soliciting information from the public concerning details of the investigation.
Recommendation # 46
The MWWG recommends that media best practices should be developed in consultation with police and media and made public.
Recommendation # 47
The MWWG recommends that Heads of Prosecution and the FPT Working Group on Victims participate in the development of and distribution of best practices for police, prosecutors and Victims Services respectively to use when dealing with victims’ families, witnesses and the media in missing and murdered person cases.
Recommendation # 48
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions consider the recommendation made in the 2005 FBI symposium on serial murder that investigators should consult with behavioral experts on the development of a proactive media strategy in order to circumvent issues related to interactions between the offender and the media.
Recommendation # 49
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions ensure that media involvement in any large and complex trial should be managed within a framework supported by the Judiciary.
Recommendation # 50
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions consider the recommendation of the Panel on Justice and the Media that consideration be given to formally implementing the guidelines established in the “Protocol Regarding Public Statements in Criminal Proceedings” document.
Recommendation # 51
The MWWG recommends that Heads of Prosecution and FPT Working Group on Victims examine the issue of victim and witness support best practices in this context. The best practices identified in the Pickton and Svekla prosecutions may provide a valuable starting point for this examination.
Recommendation # 52
The MWWG recommends that jurisdictions support justice agencies in developing plans for supporting those who have close contact with offensive material in cases involving missing and murdered women given the disturbing nature of these files.
