A pilot project put in place last month by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service in the wake of last year's mass shooting that was linked to intimate partner violence has yielded two arrests so far, says Chief Hugh Stevenson.
The pilot was announced on March 5, the same day Sault Police revealed that murder victim Angie Sweeney phoned 911 from her Tancred Street address the day before she was murdered to report a "verbal argument" with ex-boyfriend Bobbie Hallaert. She also informed the dispatcher that she had a physical altercation with him approximately two weeks earlier.
The evening after that call, on Oct. 23, Hallaert killed Sweeney in her home before trying travelling to a Second Line address, where he killed his three children —Abbie, Ally and Nate Hallaert, age 12, 7 and 6 — before turning a gun on himself.
On Thursday, Stevenson gave an update to the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board on the pilot project, in which officers follow up on calls for service related to intimate partner violence in which no charges are initially laid.
"Since the inception of this we have done 197 follow-up calls, out of them nine — or about five per cent — generated new incidents and out of those nine, we laid two charges," said Stevenson.
Officers are not only doing the follow-ups to seek charges, but also to ensure victims understand the resources that are available to them, as well as to make any modifications needed to a safety plan for that individual.
"The project is successful because any time where we have additional charges or we have reason to speak to the victim a second time, it's always an indication that we're continually checking on them as time goes by to make sure if there's any further opportunity for us to assist in public safety," said Stevenson.
Reached by phone on Thursday, Sweeney's longtime friend and Angie's Angels spokesperson Renee Buczel said she understands many IPV incidents in Sault Ste. Marie are likely never reported to police, and she is encouraged by the early results of the pilot.
"That's two people charged who never would have been charged in a month," said Buczel. "That's a great thing, especially when you consider a lot of women don't even call."
"Those two people being charged could have potentially saved a woman's life, and for that I'm forever going to be grateful. Any kind of change, any kind of proactive action making a real dent in IPV is amazing."
Stevenson told media after the open portion of the board meeting that the pilot project will continue for the foreseeable future.
"As long as we continue to see the numbers we have, the pilot can be considered Sault Police practice," he said.
The 1,387 total IPV calls reported for 2023 was slightly above the 1,351 reported in the previous year.
The pilot project may be the first in Ontario to review IPV calls where no arrest is made, Stevenson said when it was announced. It was put in place after a review of the 911 calls made by Sweeney prior to her murder.