Criminal Justice

Worker Hazards for Police

Professor Craig Futterman, founder of the Civil Rights Police Accountability Project of the Mandel Legal Aid Clinic at the Chicago Law School, charges that “the City has a policy and practice of failing to adequately supervise, monitor, discipline,and otherwise control its police officers.” Excessive force complaints in Chicago are 94 percent less likely to be sustained than they are in other large municipal police departments. Between 2003 and 2007, 70 percent of officers the Superintendent believed should be removed from the force were allowed to remain. more

Police Abuse/Early Warning System

The city refuses to institute suggested reforms that would require self-monitoring and increased accountability and transparency for its criminal justice system, such as the Early Warning System (EWS) instituted in Los Angeles. Although Chicago has its own EWS, there is evidence that the current system helps to propagate bad behavior in police; many of the officers flagged by the city as needing intervention averaged 2.6 more complaints per year after they completed the current programs employed for intervention. more

Reform Efforts

In April of 2007, former Police Superintendent Cline resigned. Almost 8-months later, he was replaced by Jody Weis, a 22-year FBI agent from Philadelphia with no background as a police officer. Weiss began to institute reforms such as replacing, demoting, or reassigning 21 of 25 district commanders, ordering administrative police into high crime neighborhoods, and referring the alleged brutality case of Officer Cozzi to federal authorities. His actions were not appreciated by the Department.

Between late 2008 and 2009, Weiss took a series of actions seemingly intended to appease Chicago officers. He created the Mobile Strike Force, a reformation of the shamed and disbanded Special Operations Section (SOS) unit, which has the authority to flood crime hotspots in Chicago and drive an array of armed vehicles. In October of 2008 Weiss mandated that officers would carry M4 semiautomatic assault rifles.

Weiss additionally made the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA) its own city department and selected Ilana Rosenweig for the job. Rosenweig has made positive changes such as working with the CHA and CPS to conduct violence prevention and sifting through the backlog of allegations levied against Chicago officers. more

Violence Prevention

The city has virtually cut field training officers from the payroll, thus preventing young officers from being as well exposed to the challenges facing specific communities on their beats.

Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) program was once emulated around the nation. Now, however, officers are not encouraged to participate and the relationship between officers and the communities in which they patrol has weakened.

Anti-violence, non-profit organizations like CeaseFire that send reformed gang members into communities have had a staggering impact on the homicide rate in Chicago and are supported by Superintendent Weiss. more