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Feds release new report on CPD’s consent decree reforms

By Sun-Times Media Wire
Published  March 31, 2021 10:48am CDT
Chicago Police Department
Sun-Times Media Wire

CHICAGO - Federal monitors released a third report on the Chicago Police Department’s progress in enacting consent decree reforms.

The report found that CPD is on track for implementing the reforms, but that many others still need to be put in place.

In a statement, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and police Supt. David Brown touted several reforms noted in the report, including new mandatory in-service training, community engagement for police policies, improved transparency by revamping public use of force dashboard and a new "anti-retaliation department-wide policy."

"It is important that we also acknowledge and take ownership of the opportunities to do better, the road to reform remains a marathon, not a sprint, as evidenced by other major city police departments that have worked tirelessly, in some instances for a decade or longer to achieve full compliance with their respective consent decrees," the statement reads.

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In his own statement, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said reforms still need to be made in the following areas:

  • Clear prohibitions against sexual misconduct by CPD members.
  • Policies regarding investigations of officer-involved shootings and deaths, as well as interacting with youth and children, members of religious communities, individuals with limited English proficiency and people with disabilities.
  • Implementation of data collection and analysis systems to improve crime-reduction strategies, identify concerns in use-of-force incidents, and measure accountability and supervisory effectiveness.

"Reform is a constant work in progress, and while the city and CPD have made positive changes in their approach to policing in accordance with the consent decree, there is still work that needs to be done," Raoul said in the statement.

The progress report was the third to be released since the consent decree took effect in March 2019, and covers an unprecedented time in Chicago marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and nationwide protests over police misconduct.