In 1979, the London Family Court Clinic received a grant from the federal department of justice to review the police and court response to abused women. The grant required a local advisory committee to review the findings and implement recommendations. As a result, the London Coordinating Committee to End Woman Abuse was formed in order to jointly identify problems, share information, and provide seamless service to women experiencing violence.
In February 1981, the Committee released a research report that provided an analysis of the Criminal Justice system’s process, and also victims’ perceptions of the system and its gaps. Among other report recommendations put forth by the Committee, was the essential need for police to lay charges in all cases of woman abuse.
This was strongly supported by key figures within the London Police, most notably Inspector John J. Robinson, who had worked tirelessly to advocate for more effective protection and support for abused women. He championed a policy that lead to a 95% arrest rate for calls to woman abuse cases in the City of London. And, as a result of his considerable efforts, and under the leadership of then Chief, Walter Johnson, in May of 1981, a new policy on charging in wife assault cases was formalized. The policy instructed officers to lay charges of assault where there were reasonable and probable grounds to believe an assault had taken place, which took the onus off the victim to bring charges.
London was the first city in Canada to develop such a policy, five years before any provincial or federal directives. In gratitude for the tremendous impact that John Robinson made, in 1988, the LCCEWA established an award in his name to honour and recognize an individual or group who has promoted substantial change in the area of woman abuse.