As chief of the East Lansing Police Department (ELPD), I wanted to address a letter that was published in The State News on April 28, 2015 regarding ELPD’s investigation into a reported sexual assault.

ELPD takes the crime of sexual assault extremely seriously and follows all appropriate protocols and procedures when investigating these cases. Unfortunately, in some cases, there may not be enough evidence to pursue criminal charges and the criminal justice system does not allow us to arrest individuals without probable cause.

With that being said, we understand how hard it can be to come forward to report a sexual assault and how frustrating it would be to go through that process without a conclusion. We take all crimes seriously and take our duty to protect the community seriously. I encourage anyone who believes they’ve been a victim of a crime to report it to ELPD and please know that we will do everything we can to pursue all leads. Additionally, if you have been a victim of a crime or a sexual assault and believe it was not adequately investigated or resolved, please contact ELPD Deputy Chief Jeff Murphy at (517) 319-6846 for a full review of your case.

Juli Liebler is the chief of police for the East Lansing Police Department.