Waterloo Regional Police to review unfounded sexual assault cases

The Waterloo Regional Police Service says it will review how officers have handled dozens of allegations sexual assault that were classified as "unfounded"with the goal of improving its servicesfor victims in the future.

This comes after a story the Globe andMail published in early February that showed on average, almost one in five sexual assault complaints are dismissed by police forces across the country.

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According to the Globe's numbers, between 2010 and 2014, Waterloo Regional Police recorded 27 per cent of sexual assault complaints as unfounded,eight per cent higher than the national average.

"Immediately there was some concern about why over a quarter of all cases would be closed out as unfounded and so we've asked the chief to look into the matter and he has come up with a plan to move forward on it," regional councillor Tom Galloway, who is the chair of the Waterloo Region Police Service Board, told CBC's The Morning Editionon Tuesday.

"That includes looking at some past cases and are these truly unfounded or did unfounded become the default code for closing out these particular cases."

Creating a task force

Waterloo Regional Police Chief, Bryan Larkinand the board are in the early phases of putting together a task force, according to Galloway, who could not provide an exact number of cases that would be reviewed or a time period that would be examined.

The task forcewill be made up of several representatives from organizations that are at the forefront of the issue, according to Galloway, who not onlydeal with victims of sexual assault on a daily basis and as such are in agood position to advise the police on how to better handle sexual assault cases from a victim's perspective.

One of those organizations includes the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Regionwhere the organization's executive director, Sara Cassleman, was asked to participate.

"I was really encouraged that Waterloo region was so quick to say that they were going to be looking at their rates as well," she said.

"I think it's really important that the voices of survivors and the voices of those who have been impacted make the basis of the discussions that are happening."