Internal police review finds no problems with sex assault cases deemed 'unfounded': Chief

An ongoing internal review of sexual assault cases in London, originally marked 'unfounded' by police, has found no problems with those cases, police chief John Pare tells CBC London.

Between 2010 and 2014, London police categorized one-third of reported sexual assault cases as 'unfounded' -- the highest percentage among the country's 25 largest police forces, a Globe and Mail investigation revealed in February.

• Lawsuit alleges London police sex-assault investigation discriminatory

After the media reports, London police officials said they would go through the 690 cases deemed 'unfounded' to see if anything was missed. A total of 2,278 sexual assault reports were made during that time-period.

Pare told London Morning an ongoing review of those cases has not found any that need to be re-examined.

"At this point the investigations have been reviewed. We've gone back and made sure nothing was missed," Pare said. "Nothing so far has been uncovered as an issue."

A full 30 per cent of sexual assault cases in London are marked unfounded, compared to a Canadian average of 20 per cent.

In the wake of the investigation, Pare apologized to victims who didn't feel supported by his officers.

Police consider giving community groups access to reports

Cases get marked unfounded if an officer determines that a crime was not attempted or committed.Pare said his officers were marking cases 'unfounded' if a woman reported a sexual assault but didn't want to proceed with charges.

London police are looking at incorporating parts of the so-called Philadelphia Case Review Model into its policing.

Philadelphia Model allows community group tosee sexual assault police reports, review the investigative steps and see if there's a way to improve on the process, both for criminal charges and for victims.

"We're definitely looking at if that model would work here, but I'm not sure if all of it would work." Pare said.