Article content continued

But she said such information is essential not only to understand whether investigations are working, but also to show results to victims who are weighing whether to take the difficult step of coming forward.

“How do you transmit the message that reporting’s a good thing if there’s nothing to show the military members that we are taking this seriously?” Johnson said.

Vance echoed that assessment during his committee appearance, telling senators that the military must improve its ability to collect and communicate information “to better and more completely expose people to the punitive efforts that have gone on.”

Frei said the system military police use to record and track cases is extremely unwieldy when it comes to producing many types of statistics. Efforts are being made to improve the system, he said, particularly in light of Vance’s order to stamp out sexual misconduct.

Statistics aside, Frei said military police are stepping up efforts in other ways to better improve investigations and convictions when it comes to sexual offences.

Six teams of three investigators trained specifically to deal with sexual crimes have been deployed across the country and are ready to respond when a call comes in. In addition, the process for laying charges has been changed to take power away from commanding officers while victims can opt for civilian police.

Frei also said military police are aided by the fact that military service personnel are required to report crimes whenever they hear about them.

This “positive responsibility to report,” as Frei describes it, means military police sometimes receive reports of alleged incidents that are incorrect or in which the victim doesn’t want to talk.

While the result is many more investigations than charges when compared with civilian authorities, he hopes it means more crimes are being reported.

Experts believe only between five and 10 per cent of sexual crimes outside the military are reported to police.