October 14, 2017

Mayor Emanuel Announces Down Payment on Police Reform

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today announced the City’s proposed investment in public safety reform. More than $27.4 million in the Mayor’s proposed budget will be devoted to police reform. The investment is an increase of $24 million over 2017 and will support initiatives such as enhanced training, reform implementation, officer wellness and community policing.

“Lasting and meaningful reform is essential to strengthening trust between the police and the community they serve,” said Mayor Emanuel. “With this investment, the city of Chicago is making a down payment on police reform.” 

"The investments that Mayor Emanuel is making in CPD will make us a better agency for both our officers and the communities we serve," said CPD First Deputy Superintendent Kevin Navarro. "Thanks to this crucial funding, CPD can continue its efforts to implement meaningful reforms and initiatives in the areas of training, technology, officer wellness and community policing, all of which will help us build public trust and make Chicago safer."

As part of a commitment to training, investments support CPD in implementing its new 16-hour in-service training requirement that will expand to 40 hours of mandatory training by 2021. Investments will ensure recruits get best in-class training, including:

  • Training Assessments: consult with subject matter expert to assess recruit and in-service training, and partner on revisions to curriculum
  • More Field Training Officers: 100 new Field Training Officers will be promoted to ensure the next generation of police officers get the best on-the-job training when they graduate from the Academy
  • Learning Management System (LMS): an online training system to expand and extend training

 Investments in management of reforms will ensure the continuous review and assessment of reform and accountability efforts, including:

  • Office of Reform Management: the new team will include 26 new civilian members who will liaison with the consent decree independent monitor and CPD bureaus that will be implementing the reforms, as well as measure progress and verify compliance with new policies and training
  • Modernize Case Management: that will improve workflow and manage the discipline process between CPD and other agencies responsible for police accountability

By incorporating national best practices, investments in officer well-being will support officers’ ability to be successful at their jobs, including:

  • Talent Management System: integrate LMS, Early Intervention System and the Performance Evaluation System
  • Early Intervention System: working with the University of Chicago, redevelop an officer wellness system to help the department identify exemplary officers as well as to determine when and how to extend officers additional support if needed.
  • General Needs Assessment: internal assessment to better understand the wellness, training and other needs of officers for member support

While improving community trust will take more than dollars, a more than $3 million increase in the Mayor’s proposed budget, and triple last year’s budget, will be allocated directly to enhancing community policing efforts, including:

  • Dedicated Community Policing Staff: 30 additional community relations coordinators, organizers and advocates will expand the Department’s capacity to engage communities, young people, block clubs and victims.
  • Community Policing Training: support every police officer in every district to connect with community members and leverage CPD’s resources to create meaningful engagement programs and opportunities
  • District Advisory Councils and Youth District Advisory Councils: expanded community councils will strengthen partnerships with each district will implement strategies for reducing likelihood of youth being involved in violence
  • Implement Tracking: electronic tracking of interactions to improve measurement of relationship building with community members
  • Public Survey: resident sentiment survey to understand how to build on engagement efforts and improve interactions and trust

The Police Department will continue to increase the use of Body Worn Cameras. All patrol officers in every district will have body worn cameras by the end of 2017. In 2018, body worn camera deployment will expand to specialized units and area teams to further the ability to fairly resolve complaints and improve transparency.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) came into being on September 15, 2017. Additional investments in 2018, will build a state of the art mediation program which will help amicably resolve complaints and lead to increased community trust.

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