Civilian panel to begin auditing how Ottawa police handle sexual assault cases

In the next few weeks, a civilian panel will start running quarterly reviews of dozens of Ottawa cases in the hopes of improving the way police investigate sexual assault and domestic violence.
The problem the project is aimed at changing is a long-standing one —  many women who come forward with reports of sexual assault feel police don’t believe them.
A large proportion of sexual assault cases are “unfounded,” meaning police have concluded that no crime occurred or