The police department in Tallahassee, Fla., the target of stinging criticism and national attention for its handling of a rape accusation against Florida State University’s Heisman Trophy winner, Jameis Winston, has begun working with a respected women’s advocacy group to rewrite its sexual assault complaint policy.

The city’s police chief, Michael DeLeo, appointed at the end of last year, has also agreed to an external review of the department’s overall policies by the Police Executive Research Forum, a nonprofit research group based in Washington.

“I applaud the chief of police’s initiative in both of these instances,” said Meg Baldwin, the executive director of the Refuge House, a provider of services to sexual assault victims. Ms. Baldwin has often been critical of the department.

Ms. Baldwin has been working behind the scenes to strengthen the community’s response to sexual assaults, an effort that gained significant momentum, she said, after an article in The New York Times examined the Winston case and other sexual assaults on Florida State students.