More than a month after ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη RCMP announced the completion of its internal review about the high number of sexual assaults that were deemed βunfoundedβ in 2018 and 2019, an update has yet to be given.
Now, following a brief protest in council chambers on Monday, the mayor said he will request the report himself.
The City of ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη and the local detachment came under fire in October 2019 after ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη revealed nearly 40 per cent of sexual assaults reported to police were deemed βunfounded.β
Subsequently, the RCMP launched an internal investigation into those numbers, the results of which are now in the hands of ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη Mounties.
βWe have completed the review and are going through the results,β wrote RCMP Cst. Solana Pare in a Jan. 23 release. βWhen we have a full understanding of the results, we will provide an update which should be within the next few weeks.β
Those few weeks have now passed and ΑπΑ§ΙρΙηβs sexual assault survivors and allies are left waiting for answers.
βIβm embarrassed that this is what our city has become,β said survivor Heather Friesen after her demonstration in council chambers.
βItβs been over a month and we havenβt heard a word. Why? Because they have to put their spin on it.
βI want answers; Iβm tired of waiting. Why (isnβt city council) asking for it? Why arenβt they protecting the citizens of ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη? Why arenβt they asking for answers for the city of ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη? Their silence is rape culture.β
Following the council meeting, Mayor Colin Basran confirmed he will request the report from the RCMP but until it is released thereβs nothing he can say on the matter.
βUntil we know the findings of the report, and until I see it, there isnβt really anything to talk about,β he said.
βWould I like to know the findings of that report? I would. And would I be willing to request the results of that? Yes, I would.β
The mayor said that a sexual assault unit within the ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη RCMP, as Friesen has been petitioning for, is a possibility if itβs recommended by the report.
Friesen said the mayor has ignored numerous requests for a one-on-one meeting. Basran denied the accusation and said he would gladly meet with her.
βThat is completely false. The last time she requested a meeting, she was yelling at me at a public meeting at UBCO,β said Basran.
ΑπΑ§ΙρΙηβ requests for comment from the RCMP were not returned.
READ MORE: βPlease be quiet,β ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη Mayor tells sexual assault survivor protesting in council chambers
READ MORE: ΑπΑ§ΙρΙη RCMP completes internal review of sexual assault cases deemed βunfoundedβ
michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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