Sarnia Council is asking the Sarnia Police Service to review "unfounded" sexual assault cases between 2010 and 2014.
The request comes after a nationwide Globe and Mail investigation found that 22% of sexual assault allegations reported to the Sarnia Police Service between 2010 and 2014 were categorized as “unfounded.”
The national rate is 19%.
In her motion, councillor Anne-Marie Gillis wondered why an announcement to reexamine the cases hadn't already been made.
"Personally, I find this quite disturbing and I find it unacceptable," said Gillis. "In my view there needs to be better ways that police can investigate this. To do that, I believe there needs to be a view of what has happened in our past to better understand why our numbers are so high and what changes must be made."
Earlier this month, Sarnia Police Constable John Sottosanti said each report of sexual assault is handled with due diligence on a case by case basis and investigations of sexual assault are routinely reviewed several times.
"I don't think it's good enough for us to say 'we treat the cases fairly, we look at them one by one,'" said Gillis. "That's what so many municipalities are saying."
Gillis said cities of similar size have announced plans to review their cases.
"I don't think that it is simply good enough to say 'we've looked at the numbers and all is well.' Clearly, all is not well," she says.
The Globe and Mail reported the number of cases deemed unfounded by Lambton County OPP was 28%.
The Ontario Provincial Police and RCMP have both announced plans to review sexual assault investigation reports designated as “unfounded.”
- With files from Stephanie Chaves