Government is taking a second look at all sexual assault cases deemed unfounded by New Brunswick’s municipal police forces.

"Unfounded" is a label police use to classify an alleged sexual assault, but the definition can vary.

“An offence may have occurred or been attempted, but there just wasn't enough evidence to pursue charges,” says Beth Lyons, executive director of New Brunswick’s Women’s Council. “Whereas other definitions said that the investigation showed that there was no offence either attempted or completed. And those are very different definitions of unfounded.”

In Saint John for instance, between 2010 and 2016, there were 366 sexual assault cases deemed to be unfounded, averaging 45 per cent of all cases.

That was enough for the New Brunswick government to request all municipal police forces hand over those cases for them to review.

The Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre, the New Brunswick Women's Council, and the New Brunswick Police Commission are talking part in the reviews.

“It's not about police departments or RCMP defending themselves, first and foremost,” says Lyons. “It's actually about taking steps to make sure that women and others who survive sexual violence feel confident that the institutions that are supposed to protect them and help them seek justice will actually do that.”

Steve Roberge, executive director of the New Brunswick Police Commission, says he has been assured by government that the commission will get copies of all the cases, and that they will be meeting to look into the cases before the end of August.

Fredericton police not only agreed to the review, but also started a review of their own. They’ve reached out to the Fredericton Sexual Assault Centre to take a look at their files.

"The public should be reassured that protection of private information will not be disclosed and that we are very interested in the feedback provided by these professionals who work in the area of sexual violence from a different vantage point," said Fredericton Police Chief Leanne Fitch said in a statement.

The Department of Justice and Public Safety is leading the initiative. The meetings, which are expected to take place in the coming weeks, will determine what's next for these unfounded cases.

With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Brown.