NCJ Number
122484
Date Published
1987
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper examines police efforts at preventing and detecting violence in Canada and describes the use of modern technology to improve police investigations of violent crime and perhaps eliminate the inappropriate use of police violence.
Abstract
Many Canadian jurisdictions have made the investigation and prosecution of domestic assault a priority, recognizing that such widespread violence breeds more violence among those who experience it and witness it. The Solicitor General of Ontario, for example, has told police chiefs to investigate all domestic assault cases and to bring charges in appropriate cases. The attorney general in Manitoba has established a policy of bringing charges in all cases of domestic assault where there is sufficient evidence for a conviction, regardless of the victim's wishes. Studies suggest that police action alone in such cases is not as effective as when the deterrent effect of policing is combined with referral to social services. Police investigations of sexual assault have been more effective when victims are appropriately and sensitively managed and provided services. Videotaping technology has been used in the interviewing of suspects, accused persons, victims, and witnesses to improve the speed and record accuracy of such interviews and to monitor police performance in such interviews.