Chicago City Wire

The Independent Monitoring Team’s (IMT) sixth semiannual report (IMR-6) details the substantial work that was done from January 1, 2022 through June 30, 2022 to not just reform, but to fundamentally transform the Chicago Police Department (CPD). This is evidenced through the 78.4% of consent decree paragraphs in which the City achieved a level of compliance during IMR-6. This is a significant increase compared to previous monitoring periods, and a 13.9% increase in paragraphs receiving a level of compliance compared to IMR-5.

This achievement is made possible by the dedication of the men and women who work day-in and day-out to implement systems and policies that will lead to our ultimate goal of cultural change within the CPD. This is being done as we continue our work to grow community trust and improve public safety across Chicago. Year to date, the efforts of our brave officers have led to a 15% reduction in homicides and 20% reduction in shootings. We have also seen a 10% reduction in vehicular hijackings incidents year to date.

Though we are proud of this progress and our continued momentum toward full and effective compliance, we know there is much more work to be done. Our focus remains on making CPD the most professional and transparent police department in the country. We are making progress in this effort by modernizing systems which will streamline operations.

The Chicago Police Department is also working on implementing management systems like Unity of Command and Span of Control, which will lead to strengthened accountability through more consistent staffing and supervisory models. Unity of Command and Span of Control will improve how our officers approach their daily duties, as well as improve the wellness support systems they have within their supervisory staff. This improvement is crucial to the transformation of CPD and although it will take multiple budget cycles to complete, it is truly one of the most important investments CPD can

make.

During IMR-6, CPD also finalized our strategic Roadmap to Operational Compliance, which serves as a performance management blueprint for these efforts moving forward. The road to achieving full and effective compliance is meticulous and it’s important that we take an integrated and data-driven approach to creating change within the Department.

We’ve also come a long way with officer training since the implementation of the consent decree. All sworn members now receive 40 hours of mandatory annual in-service training, compared to 16 hours  in 2018. Topics like use of force, de-escalation and officer wellness are built into this annual training, which equips our officers with the essential resources and knowledge they need to do their job effectively, fairly, and constitutionally.

Other accomplishments from IMR-6 include:

•  After extensive engagement with community members and the Independent Monitoring Team and Office of the Attorney General, released a permanent foot pursuit policy that emphasizes safety for officers and members of the public; the policy also enables improved data collection about foot pursuits through the establishment of specific forms that will be used to document the occurrence of foot pursuits and supervisory reviews of these incidents.
•  Completed the 40-hour in-service training program for the 2021 training year, delivering training to more than 95% of members on key topics like officer wellness, community policing, de-escalation, and use of force
•  Revised or drafted new policies related to other key reform topics, including accountability and disciplinary procedures and crisis intervention
•  Continued efforts to implement the Department’s Unity of Command and Span of Control pilot program to allow for greater geographic familiarity and high-quality supervision in the 6th (Gresham) District
•  Conducted a training needs assessment that leverages extensive input from community members, CPD members, and other key stakeholders to determine training priorities for 2023
•  Continued the Tactical Review and Evaluation Division’s reviews of investigatory stops and use of force incidents, along with associated data analysis and public reporting

More information about the progress CPD made during IMR-6 is outlined in the Department’s Reform Progress Update that was released in October.

As we continue in our journey to continuously improve CPD through reform, we remain committed to creating a police department that every single person in Chicago is confident in. We cannot be an effective police department without having the trust of our residents behind us. We stand true to our promise to listen and learn from our community members as we all work together to make our beautiful city safer for everyone. 

Original source can be found here.