Focus groups to help develop sexual assault investigation policy for London police

London police are looking outside of their organization to develop best practices for sexual assault investigations.

It's been 18 years since the policy was last written and the force has come under fire for classifying too many complaints as unfounded.

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Three community organizations will help police gather input for the policy including the London Abused Women's Centre (LAWC), Anovaand Safe Space.

"The biggest barrier for women to come forward ... everything is recorded," said Megan Walker, executive director of LAWC."Obviously because of backlash and confidentiality concerns women don't want to disclose that information so this process actually removes that barrier."

One of the goals is to ensure women, who may not trust police or wish to remain anonymous, can still provide input.

Diverse voices

Police board members are looking for people with diverse backgrounds and lived experiences.Theywant feedback from indigenous women,black women and women of colour, individuals in the LGBTQ communityand people living with disabilities.

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SusanToth,the board's vice-chair, said another important group to hear from is those in the sex work trade.

"We want to recognize that certain groups are at much higher risk of sexual assault and we want to be really sensitive to and engaged with those groups in particular," she said.

It's too soon to say how input from new and diverse voices will change the way sexual assault cases are investigated but Walker said it's an important step.

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"We will know that after all of the data has been gathered and disseminated and best practices developed," said Walker. "Once we get to that stage we're going to see a significant increase in the level of confidence women and girls have in coming forward to police with complaints."

Walkersaidfocus groups will be held this spring.