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IU Police Academy graduate Jill Lees appointed as chief of IU Police Department-Bloomington

For Immediate Release Feb 7, 2019

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Jill Lees, deputy chief of support at the Plainfield Police Department, has been appointed as the ninth chief of police of the Indiana University Police Department-Bloomington, IU Bloomington Provost and Executive Vice President Lauren Robel and Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Institutional Assurance Benjamin Hunter have announced.

Lees is a graduate of the Indiana University Police Academy. When she assumes her new role at IUPD-Bloomington on March 4, she will lead a department with 45 full-time sworn officers who protect IU’s flagship campus – which has a daytime population of almost 53,000 – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Chief Lees has an impressive record working with individuals to advance community-oriented policing in Plainfield,” Hunter said. “Our students, staff and faculty on the Bloomington campus will benefit from her commitment to transparency, open-dialogue and clear communication. Her experience and forward-thinking leadership skills make her an outstanding fit for this important position.”

Lees succeeds Chief Laury Flint, who is taking on universitywide IUPD responsibilities involving community engagement and risk assessment, a critical component of campus safety.

Lees graduated from the IU Police Academy in 1994 and began her career at the Plainfield Police Department just a week after graduating from IU. Throughout her years in Plainfield, she worked in almost every area of the department, most recently as deputy chief of support, which includes the support services and criminal investigations branches. She has been deeply involved in her own leadership development as well as accreditation efforts at the department and at other police departments, where she conducted assessments for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

“I am humbled and honored to have been selected as the police chief of IUPD’s Bloomington division,” Lees said. “I started my law enforcement career here as a cadet officer and am so excited to be able to come back to serve where I began. My years in law enforcement have helped prepare me for the next chapter, and I am looking forward to this amazing opportunity.”

IUPD-Bloomington is one of seven divisions of the IU Police Department, which is part of the Office of Public Safety and Institutional Assurance. Lees will join a leadership team comprising the seven chiefs throughout the university and ensuring a progressive and community-oriented approach to campus law enforcement.

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IU Newsroom

Chuck Carney

Director of Special Projects

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