FORSAKEN The Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry Executive Summary The Honourable Wally T. Oppal, QC Commissioner FORSAKEN The Report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Honourable Wally T. Oppal, QC Commissioner British Columbia November 19, 2012 Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication British Columbia. Missing Women Commission of Inquiry Forsaken [electronic resource] : the report of the Missing Women Commission of Inquiry / Wally T. Oppal, Commissioner. Complete contents: Vol. I. The women, their lives and the framework of inquiry, setting the context for understanding and change - v. II. Nobodies, how and why we failed the missing and murdered women - v. III. Gone, but not forgotten, building the women’s legacy of safety together - v. IV. The Commission’s process. - Executive summary. Issued also in printed form. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-9917299-7-5 1. Serial murder investigation--British Columbia. 2. Missing persons--Investigation --British Columbia. 3. Murder victims--British Columbia. 4. Pickton, Robert William. 5. British Columbia. Missing Women Commission of Inquiry. 6. Downtown-Eastside (Vancouver, B.C.). 7. Governmental investigations--British Columbia. I. Oppal, Wallace T II. Title. HV6762 B75 B75 2012 363.25’9523209711 C2012-980202-6 Access to Report Please contact the following if you are interested in receiving a copy of the report or a CD-ROM of the report: Distribution Centre-Victoria PO Box 9455 STN PROV GOVT Victoria, BC V8W 9V7 Phone: 250 952 4460 Toll free: 1 800 282 7955 Fax: 250 952 4431 Email: [email protected] URL: http://www.bcsolutions.gov.bc.ca/opc/ For general inquiries, please call Service BC Call Centre Hours of operation are 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST – Monday through Friday In Victoria call: 250 387 6121 In Vancouver call: 604 660 2421 Elsewhere in BC call: 1 800 663 7867 Outside British Columbia call: 1 604 660 2421 Email address: [email protected] Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) In Vancouver call: 604 775 0303 Elsewhere in BC call: 1 800 661 8773 TABLE OF CONTENTS VOLUME I – THE WOMEN, THEIR LIVES AND THE FRAMEWORK OF INQUIRY: SETTING THE CONTEXT FOR UNDERSTANDING AND CHANGE ........................................4 PART 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................4 Report Overview ...........................................................................................................5 PART 2: THE CRISIS OF MISSING AND MURDERED WOMEN ...............................................7 PART 3: THE WOMEN .............................................................................................................9 PART 4: THE WOMEN’S LIVES ..............................................................................................12 Part 4A: The Downtown Eastside Community ..............................................................12 Part 4B: Conditions of the Women’s Lives and Their Vulnerability to Violence ..............13 Part 4C: The Disproportionate Number of Aboriginal Women ......................................14 Part 4D: The Survival Sex Trade ...................................................................................15 Part 4E: Social Marginalization and Individual Vulnerability ........................................16 PART 5: LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK FOR THE INQUIRY: POLICING DUTIES, STRUCTURES, PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS .....................................................................17 Part 5A: Policing Within an Equality Rights Framework ...............................................17 Part 5B: The Structure of Policing in British Columbia .................................................18 Part 5C: Missing Persons Investigations ........................................................................19 Part 5D: The Challenge of Stopping Serial Predators ...................................................20 Part 5E: The Commission’s Definition of Misconduct and Approach to the Issue of Jurisdiction ...........................................................................................21 VOLUME II - NOBODIES: HOW AND WHY WE FAILED THE MISSING AND MURDERED WOMEN ..................................................................................................24 Introduction and Overview .........................................................................................24 PART 1: THE INVESTIGATION OF THE ANDERSON ASSAULT AND THE CROWN DECISION TO STAY THE 1997 CHARGES AGAINST PICKTON ............................29 Ms. Anderson’s Courage ..............................................................................................29 The Commission’s Mandate with Respect to the Stay Decision ...................................30 Preliminary Issue: The Destruction of the Crown File ...................................................31 The Assault and the Investigation .................................................................................31 The assault .................................................................................................................32 The investigation ........................................................................................................34 The Prosecution ..........................................................................................................35 The Stay Decision........................................................................................................39 The Story of the Missing Women Begins with the Anderson Assault .............................40 PART 2: OVERVIEW OF THE INVESTIGATIONS ....................................................................41 PART 3: CRITICAL POLICE FAILURES ....................................................................................43 Part 3A: Poor Report Taking and Follow Up on Reports of Missing Women ..................43 Reporting ................................................................................................................43 Initial Investigation .................................................................................................45 Follow-Up Investigation ..........................................................................................48 Recording and File Reviews ....................................................................................50 Communication with Family Members or Reportees ...............................................51 Inter-Jurisdictional Cooperation ...............................................................................53 Overall Assessment and Conclusion .......................................................................54 Internal Audit of VPD Missing Persons Unit .............................................................55 Part 3B: Faulty Risk Analysis and Risk Assessment .......................................................55 Part 3C: Inadequate Proactive Strategy to Prevent Further Harm to Women in the DTES ....................................................................................................66 Part 3D: Failure to Consider and Properly Pursue All Investigative Strategies ...............71 Failure to Employ an Aboriginal-Specific Investigation Strategy ...............................71 Restricted Involvement of Family Members, Community and Media ......................72 Lack of Follow Up on Tips and Mismanagement of Informants and Information Sources .........................................................................................75 Limited Use of Other Investigative Avenues: Surveillance, Undercover Operations, Search Warrants and Forensic Evidence ............................77 Delays in Pursuing a Suspect-Based Strategy and Failure to Confirm Or Rule Out Suspects ................................................................................79 Overall Conclusion on Investigative Strategies ........................................................81 Part 3E: Failure to Follow Major Case Management Practices and Policies ...................81 Part 3F: Failure to Address Cross-Jurisdictional Issues and Ineffective Coordination Between Police Forces and Agencies ......................................................84 Part 3G: Failure of Internal Review and External Accountability Mechanisms ..............91 PART 4: UNDERLYING CAUSES OF THE CRITICAL POLICE FAILURES .................................93 Part 4A: Discrimination, Systemic Institutional Bias, and Political and Public Indifference ...............................................................................................93 Part 4B: A Want of Leadership: Supervision and Management Issues ..........................96 Part 4C: Limited and Outdated Policing Systems, Approaches and Standards ..............97 Part 4D: Fragmentation of Policing ...........................................................................100 Part 4E: Inadequate Resources ..................................................................................101 Part 4F: Police Culture and ‘People Problems’ ..........................................................103 Part 4G: Unsupported Allegations of Conspiracy and Cover-up .................................105 VOLUME III – GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: BUILDING THE WOMEN’S LEGACY OF SAFETY TOGETHER .....................................................................108 PART 1 – WORKING TOGETHER TO BUILD A LEGACY FOR THE MISSING WOMEN .......108 Introduction and Overview