Jill Lees, Plainfield Police Department deputy chief of support, has been working at Plainfield PD for 23 years, but in March she will become IU Police Department’s new chief of police.
She said she decided to become a police officer after a high school teacher recommended she go to the Indiana State Police Career Camp.
At the camp, she said, an IUPD officer gave a presentation about the IU Police Academy, which cemented her plans.
“I knew then that that’s what I wanted to do," she said. "I wanted to be a police officer, but I also wanted to go to Indiana University."
She graduated from the IU Police Academy in 1994, graduated from IU with a criminal justice degree in 1995 and was sworn in at Plainfield Police Department on May 15, 1995.
She said she feels she has done everything Plainfield PD has to offer and will take what she has learned in her years to her new position.
She taught the Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, participated in Coffee with a Cop events and taught self-defense classes. She said initiatives like these help build relationships with the community and work to prevent crime. She said she plans to bring this community involvement to IU.
The IUPD chief of police position opened at just the right time for Lees.
“I always said when my son graduated from high school I’d really like to go back and work in Bloomington at IU,” she said.
Her son will graduate high school in three months.
Former IUPD chief Laury Flint will be moving to the role of IU Public Safety and Institutional Assurance’s first director of threat assessment and engagement.
Flint said moving onto a new role was a hard decision for her because she has been with IUPD for about 36 years. Like Lees, she graduated from IU’s Police Academy program.
“This late in my career, it might seem crazy to take on something I consider such a monumental task,” Flint said, “But I think I’m up to the challenge.”
When searching for someone to replace Flint, Associate Vice President for Public Safety and Institutional Assurance and Superintendent for Public Safety Benjamin Hunter said he wanted someone to continue the community engagement IUPD is already doing.
“I was looking to continue that strong presence with community engagement that we have with Chief Flint,” he said. “Making sure we have an individual that could come in and build those relationships with faculty, staff and students.”
Hunter said Lees received high praise at the public forums, which showed she was good for the job.
“Jill definitely stood out,” said Flint, who was a co-chair of the search committee. “She’s going to bring a lot to the department.”
Lees said she is excited to take on the new role and wants to make sure people know she is available for people in the IU community.
“I always am a welcoming face,” she said. “I’m always somebody that is very approachable and I’m someone you know will listen.”
