Sault Ste. Marie police launch pilot project to reduce intimate partner violence

Sault Ste. Marie police have launched a pilot project in its efforts to reduce incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV).

The northern Ontario police force will now follow up on all IPV related calls that don't result in charges to ensure complainants aren't being assaulted.

The pilot project comes five months after a deadly shooting related to IPV shook the community in October 2023.

The police service is continuing its review of the shooting that left a woman and three children dead, and injured another woman.

The pilot project is being implemented by Sault Ste. Marie police Chief Hugh Stevenson.

"This is simply an added step to hopefully prevent things like this from happening in the future here or anywhere else," said Stevenson.

Stevenson said their review of last fall's shooting found the adult victim, Angie Sweeney, had called police the day before the shooting during a verbal argument with Bobbie Hallaert.

He added a recent audit found Sweeney had reportedto the dispatcher that she had been previouslyassaulted by Hallaert, but that information was not relayed to the responding officer.

Stevenson said if a followup call had been made to Sweeney, police could have tried to implement a safety plan to protect her.

"If an officer had called the following day, she may or may not have made a different utterance to us that yes, she had been assaulted. A car would have [gone] over and he would have been arrested."

He added the service hasalready completed 20 followup calls to people since the pilot project began early this week.

The police chief said the review identified areas of improvement for police when handling IPV or other sensitive calls for service. Theyincludeenhancing support for service members and dispatchers.

"I am a strong believer in the notion there is always room to improve," added Stevenson in a news release.

"It's crucial we share the results of this review and the areas of improvement we identify. We will continue to lead by example to ensure the public's trust in their police service."

The pilot project will run for six months. Data collecte during that time will be reviewed,Stevenson said.