How Not to Get Your Investigation Taken Seriously: Part 2
If you are dealing with matters that are potentially criminal, do not make statements such as that you expect no charges to be filed in the matter. You especially do not want to make such statements at the same time that the state and federal authorities are stating that their investigations are continuing.
Discussion
NewBalancing liability with transparency
A church investigation can and must work with the police. The church does not want to get into a situation of withholding evidence. Those involved must know that when there is a crime committed, it must be reported. If we take this viewpoint, those involved may or will not talk, just as they would toward the police.
Therefore, I would guess there are limitations to a church investigation. We can only make “probable cause” kind of judgments unless we can get the exact facts.
I would guess there would also be limitations on what you could say at a church meeting if the evidence is not yet to be made public. We don’t want to be the leaks or gossips in this situation, that is for sure. So while we must do all we can to be transparent, we have limitations based on evidence.