Chicago Police Department

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Chicago Police Department
We Serve and Protect
Established 1855
Jurisdiction Municipal
Sworn 13,619
Non-sworn 2,625
Stations 25
Superintendent-in-Chief Jody Weis
Website Official site

Chicago Police Department, also known as the CPD, is the principal law enforcement agency of the City of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, under the jurisdiction of the city mayor. It is the largest police department in the Midwest and the second largest in the United States after the New York City Police Department with over 13,600 sworn officers and over 2,600 other employees. Dating back to 1837, the Chicago Police Department is one of the oldest modern police forces in the world.

Contents

[edit] Structure

The Superintendent of Police leads the Chicago Police Department. The Superintendent manages five bureaus, each commanded by a Deputy Superintendent. The first deputy superintendent manages day-to-day operations, reporting directly to the superintendent.

J. P. "Jody" Weis was sworn in as Superintendent of Police on February 1, 2008. Weis has become only the second Chicago police chief to come from outside the city. He replaced Philip J. Cline, who officially retired on August 3, 2007.

Under Cline's leadership, the Department underwent many structural changes.

As of March 2008, the five Bureaus of the Department are:

  • Bureau of Administrative Services
  • Bureau of Investigative Services
  • Bureau of Patrol
  • Bureau of Professional Standards
  • Bureau of Strategic Deployment.

There are twenty-five police districts, each led by a Commander who oversees their district. Commanders report to Area Deputy Chiefs who report to the Deputy Superintendent of Patrol who reports to the Superintendent of Police who in turn is subject to the authority of the Mayor of Chicago.

[edit] Police ranks

  • Superintendent of Police (Four Silver Five-Pointed Stars)
  • First Deputy Superintendent (Three Silver Five-Pointed Stars)
  • Deputy Superintendent (Two Silver Five-Pointed Stars)
  • Chief (One Silver Five-Pointed Star)
  • Assistant Deputy Superintendent (Silver or Gold Spread Eagle)
  • Deputy Chief (Silver Oak Leaf)
  • Commander (Gold Oak Leaf)
  • Captain (Two Silver Bars)
  • Lieutenant, Inspector (One Silver Bar for Lieutenant) (An inspector wears the Lieutenant's uniform less any rank insignia)
  • Sergeant (Three Chevrons)
  • Police Officer Assigned as Detective, Police Technician, Field Training Officer, Investigator, Gang Crime Specialist, Police Agent, Traffic Specialist, Marine Unit Officer, K-9 Officer
  • Police Officer

As with other big-city departments, Chicago detectives are not considered ranking officers, but rather officers assigned to specialized units, i.e. violent crimes, robbery, gang and narcotics, etc. Field Training Officers wear one chevron with "FTO" in the center, but are also not considered ranking officers.

[edit] Bureau of Investigative Services

Investigative functions are under the Bureau of Investigative Services (BIS). The Bureau of Investigative Services is composed of the Detective Division and the Organized Crime Division. The Detective Division includes the Bomb and Arson Unit, Cold Case Unit, Fugitive Apprehension Unit, Major Accidents Investigation Section and the Forensic Services Section which includes the Mobile Crime Lab of Forensic Investigators, ET-North and ET-South - which are the two Evidence Technician Units. The Organized Crime Division includes the Narcotic and Gang Investigations Section and the Vice Control Section.

The chief of detectives heads the detective division, the chief of organized crime heads that division--both reporting to the deputy superintendent BIS. OCD has one deputy chief, while the detective division has three.

The city is covered by five detective areas each lead by a commander: Area 1 (Wentworth) and Area 2 (Calumet) covers the south and southwest sides, while Area 3 (Belmont), Area 4 (Harrison) and Area 5 (Grand Central) covers the north, west and northwest sides of the city.

[edit] Bureau of Patrol

The Bureau of Patrol includes the airport law enforcement section, public transportation section, and the public housing section. Also included in the Bureau of Patrol are the Traffic Unit, Bicycle Unit, and various tactical units.

[edit] Bureau of Strategic Deployment

Following the disbanding of the Special Operations Section in 2007 after much negative publicity and controversies, the Special Functions Group was formed to absorb the specialized units that were not associated with the controversial plain-clothes unit known informally as SOS. The Special Functions Group includes a full-time SWAT team, organized in 2005, with 70 members. It also includes the marine, K-9, animal abuse, critical response, mounted patrol, helicopter, and dignitary protection units. The dignitary protection unit, based out of O'Hare International Airport, is the only unit that utilizes two-wheeled motorcycles. The Bureau of Strategic Deployment also includes the Targeted Response Unit. The Mounted Unit maintains 30 horses as of December 2006. The marine unit maintains 9 boats.

[edit] Police pay

Starting salary for Chicago police officers is $43,104, increased to $55,723 after one year and an additional increase to $58,896 after 18 months. Promotions to specialized or command positions also increases an officer's base pay. Salaries are supplemented with a $2,920 annual duty availability bonus and an $1,800 annual uniform allowance. [1]

[edit] Demographics

  • Male: 79%
  • Female: 21%
  • White: 60%
  • African-American/Black: 26%
  • Hispanic: 13%
  • Asian: 1%

[edit] Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS)

CPD's Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.
CPD's Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor.

The Chicago Police Department is often credited for advancing community policing through the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy program. Popularly called CAPS, it was established in 1992 and implemented in 1993 by Chicago Police Superintendent Matt L. Rodriguez. CAPS is an ongoing effort to bring communities, police, and other city agencies together to prevent crimes rather than react to crimes after they happen. The program entails increasing police presence in individual communities with a force of neighborhood-based beat officers. Beat Community Meetings are held regularly for community members and police officials to discuss potential problems and strategies.

Under CAPS, eight or nine beat officers are assigned to each of Chicago's 279 police beats. The officers patrol the same beat for over a year, allowing them to get to know community members, residents, and business owners and to become familiar with community attitudes and trends. The system also allows for those same community members to get to know their respective officers and learn to be comfortable in approaching them for help when needed. Beat officers are fully equipped and patrol their neighborhoods in a variety of methods: by bike, by car, or by foot.

[edit] Early years

When the town of Chicago was incorporated to become a city in 1837, provisions were made to elect an officer called the High Constable. He in turn would appoint a Common Constable from each of the six city wards. In 1855, the newly elected city council passed ordinances to formally establish the Chicago Police Department. Chicago was divided into three police precincts, each served by a station house. Station No. 1 was located in a building on State Street between Lake and Randolph streets. Station No. 2 was on West Randolph Street near Des Plaines Street. Station No. 3 was on Michigan Avenue near Clark Street. In 1860, the detective forces were established to investigate and solve crimes.

In 1861, the Illinois General Assembly passed a law creating a police board to become an executive department of Chicago autonomous of the mayor. The mayor was effectively stripped of his power to control the Chicago Police Department. Authority was given to three police commissioners. The commissioners created the office of superintendent to be the chief of police. The title is again in use today.

In 1875, the Illinois General Assembly found that the police commissioners were unable to control rampant corruption within the Chicago Police Department. The legislature passed a new law returning power over the police to the mayor. The mayor was allowed to appoint a single police commissioner with the advice and consent of the city council.

Despite centralized policies and practices, the captains who ran the precincts or districts were relatively independent of headquarters, owing their jobs to neighborhood politicians. Decentralization meant that police could respond to local concerns, but graft often determined which concerns got most attention.

Political connections were important to joining the force; formal requirements were few until 1895. After 1856, the department hired many foreign-born recruits, especially unskilled but English-speaking Irish immigrants. The first African American officer was appointed in 1872, but black police were assigned to duty in plain clothes only, mainly in largely black neighborhoods. Women entered the force in 1885 as matrons, caring for female prisoners. “Policewomen” were formally appointed beginning in 1913, to work with women and children. In 1895, Chicago adopted civil service procedures, and written tests became the basis for hiring and promotion. Standards for recruits rose, though policing remained political. [2]

[edit] Controversies & Brutality

The police motorcade awaits the start of the 2007 Chicago Marathon.
The police motorcade awaits the start of the 2007 Chicago Marathon.

Over the years, the Chicago police department has been the subject of a number of scandals and other controversies:

[edit] Summerdale scandals

The Chicago Police Department did not face large-scale reorganization efforts until 1960 under Mayor Richard J. Daley. That year, Chicago was hounded by the Summerdale scandals. Eight officers from the Summerdale police district on Chicago's Northwest Side were accused of operating a large-scale burglary ring. News of the scandal was splashed across the city's newspapers and was the biggest police-related scandal the city had ever seen at the time. Mayor Daley appointed a committee to make recommendations for improvements to the police system. The action resulted in the creation of a five-member police board charged with nominating a superintendent to be the chief authority over police officers, drafting and adopting rules and regulations governing the police system, submitting budget requests to the city council, and hearing and deciding disciplinary cases involving police officers.[3] Criminologist O.W. Wilson was brought on as Superintendent of Police, and served until 1967 when he retired.[4]

[edit] 1968 Democratic National Convention

The Chicago Police Department faced a great deal of criticism for its actions during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, which was held in Chicago from August 26 to August 29, 1968.

The convention was site of a series of protests, mainly over the war in Vietnam. Despite the poor behavior of some protesters, there was widespread criticism that the Chicago Police and National Guard used excessive force. Time published an article stating that "...With billy clubs, tear gas and Mace, the blue-shirted, blue-helmeted cops violated the civil rights of countless innocent citizens and contravened every accepted code of professional police discipline ... No one could accuse the Chicago cops of discrimination. They savagely attacked hippies, yippies, New Leftists, revolutionaries, dissident Democrats, newsmen, photographers, passers-by, clergymen and at least one handicapped. Winston Churchill's journalist grandson got roughed up. Playboy's Hugh Hefner took a whack on the backside. The police even victimized a member of the British Parliament, Mrs. Anne Kerr, a vacationing Laborite who was Maced outside the Conrad Hilton and hustled off to the lockup.[5]

Subsequently, the Walker Report to the U.S. National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence called the police response a "police riot," assigning blame for the mayhem in the streets to the Chicago Police.

[edit] The Black Panther Raid

On December 4, 1969, Black Panther Party leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were shot and killed by officers working for the Cook County state's attorney. Though the police claimed they had been attacked by heavily armed Panthers, subsequent investigation showed that most bullets fired came from police weapons. Relatives of the two dead men eventually won a multimillion-dollar judgment against the city. For many African Americans, the incident symbolized prejudice and lack of restraint among the largely white police. The incident led to growing black voter disaffection with the Democratic machine. [6]

[edit] Ryan Harris murder

On July 28, 1998, 11-year-old Ryan Harris was found raped and murdered in a vacant lot in the city's Englewood neighborhood. The homicide caught the nation's attention when, 12 days after Ryan's body was found, authorities, with the blessing of police command, charged a 7-year-old boy and 8-year-old boy with the murder, making them the youngest murder suspects in the nation at the time. [7]

Semen found at the scene and subsequent DNA tests cleared the boys of the crime and pointed to convicted sex offender Floyd Durr. The boys each filed lawsuits against the city, which were eventually settled for millions of dollars and Durr pleaded guilty to the rape of Harris but never admitted to the girl's murder. [8]

[edit] Russ/Haggerty shootings

Tensions between black residents and police simmered in the summer of 1999 after the fatal shootings of two unarmed black motorists, Robert Russ and LaTanya Haggerty. In one incident, Russ, a football player for Northwestern University, was shot inside of his car after a high-speed chase followed by a struggle with a police officer. In the second, Haggarty, a computer analyst, was shot by a female officer. Charges of racism against the CPD persisted, despite the fact that officers in both incidences were also black.

Both shootings resulted in lawsuits, each costing taxpayers millions of dollars. Haggerty's family, for example, reached a record $18 million settlement. [9]

[edit] Burge abuse allegations

Perhaps no other incidents exemplifies abuse concerns by Chicago Police more than the allegations against former Cmdr. Jon Burge. Burge, a life-long South Side resident, has been accused of abusing more than 200 mostly African American men from 1972 to 1991 in order to coerce confessions to crimes. [10] Alleged victims claimed Burge and his crew of detectives working the midnight shift had them beaten, suffocated with a plastic bag, burned (by cigarette and radiator) and treated with electric shock. In 1993, Burge was fired from the department, and is currently collecting his police pension. In summer 2006, special prosecutors assigned to probe the allegations determined that they had enough evidence to prove crimes against Burge and others, but "regrettably" could not bring charges because the statute of limitations had passed.[11] In January 2008, the City Council approved a $19.8 million settlement with four men who claimed abuse against Burge and his men. [12]

[edit] West Loop Bar Attack

Four businessmen who claim they were beaten by six off-duty Chicago police officers filed a lawsuit in federal court.

The employees said one of the off-duty officers approached a pool table where the men were playing, pushed aside the balls and said, "Game over," according to statements to the police department's Office of Professional Standards.

When the businessmen protested, the officers started to beat them, according to the filings. The officers were stripped of their police powers in March but have not been charged.[13]

The confrontation was caught on tape but police have not released any footage. The businessmen claim they suffered injuries including broken ribs, a broken nose, bruises and chipped bones.

The "off duty" Chicago police officers, that were invovled in the fight walked outside to the street, in front of the bar. On duty police officers responded to the 911 call, and arrived on the scene. The off duty officers flashed their badges, and told the responding officers to leave. This was caught on tape, along with one officer punching one of the business men.

[14]

[edit] Bar attack

Bartender being punched and kicked by offduty Chicago Police officer Anthony Abbate.
Bartender being punched and kicked by offduty Chicago Police officer Anthony Abbate.

Recently, the image of the Chicago Police Department had suffered when video of an intoxicated off-duty police officer kicking and beating a female bartender surfaced. Officer Anthony Abbate was shown on the footage beating and kicking Karolina Obrycka at Jesse's Shortstop Inn on February 19, 2007 after Obrycka refused to serve him any more alcohol. Abbate was later arrested and charged with felony battery and stripped of his police powers after the television station WFLD showed the footage. The Chicago Police have since moved to terminate Abbate from the force, but questions remain over the city's handling of the case.[15]

Further controversy arose when Abbate was allowed to enter the courtroom for a hearing through a side door in order to shield himself from the media. This was apparently with the assistance of the Grand Central District officers who were on duty at the time, and acting on the orders of a CPD Captain. Allegations also surfaced that the police ticketed the vehicles of news organizations and threatened reporters with arrest. In the wake of this, Superintendent Cline announced that he would demote the Captain who gave the orders, and would launch investigations into the actions of the other officers involved.[16] On April 27, 2007 14 additional charges against Abbate were announced. These included official misconduct, conspiracy, intimidation, and speaking with a witness.[17] Abbate pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges during a brief hearing on May 16th, 2007.[18]

Referring to Anthony Abbate, Superintendent Phil Cline has stated, "He's tarnished our image worse than anybody else in the history of the department."[19] The video of the attack has been viewed worldwide on 24-hour news channels and has garnered more than 100,000 views on YouTube. In the wake of this scandal and another similar scandal involving another videotaped beating at a bar, Cline announced his retirement on April 2, 2007. While both men have denied it, some believe that Cline retired under pressure from Mayor Richard M. Daley.[20] Mayor Daley has since announced a plan to create an independent police review board to replace the current Office of Professional Standards, which is under the jurisdiction of the police department.[21]

On April 30, 2007 a lawsuit was filed in Federal Court against the city of Chicago, Abbate, and several other individuals by attorneys representing Ms. Obrycka.[22]

[edit] Jerome Finnigan

Jerome Finnigan, Keith Herrera, Carl Suchocki, and Thomas Sherry were indicted in September 2007 for robbery, kidnapping, home invasion, and other charges. They were alleged to have robbed drug dealers and ordinary citizens of money, drugs, and guns. The officers were all part of Special Operations Sections or SOS. The officers had allegedly victimized citizens for years, however it was not until 2004 that allegations of misconduct were investigated. According to the State's Attorney, the tip off was that the officers repeatedly missed court dates and allowed alleged drug dealers to go free. Several lawsuits alleging misconduct on behalf of Finnigan and his team have been filed in federal court. Since the original indictments, Jerome Finnigan has also been charged with attempting to have several fellow officers killed. Since the scandal involving Finnigan, SOS has since been disbanded. Link [http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:ZZ_1G5wMStoJ:www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/indict/2007/us_v_finnigan_complaint.pdf+%22jerome+finnigan%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=9&gl=us FBI Sworn Affidavit]

[23]

[edit] Appearance in popular culture

In the film Call Northside 777, James Stewart played the role of a skeptical newspaper reporter, who initially didin't believe the story from a cleaning woman that her son, young Frank Wiechek was innocent in the case of murdering a Chicago policeman. For a period of time after John Landis' musical comedy film The Blues Brothers was released, the Chicago Police Department, in response to their portrayal in the film, put a ban on the use of the "Chicago Police" name in films, resulting in several movies and television shows replacing "Chicago Police" with "Metro Police", and other faux names.

  • The Chicago Police Department (as well as the Illinois State Police) are featured in the climactic car chase in The Blues Brothers.
  • The television series Hill Street Blues never actually stated that it was set in Chicago, although it was filmed in the city, and the design of the police cars were similar to Chicago's at the time, although they used the false "Metro Police" title. The cars were equipped with red bar lights, presumably to distinguish them from actual Chicago police cars that are equipped with blue lights.
  • In the South Park episode A Million Little Fibers, an officer of the Chicago Police is gunned down by Oprah Winfrey's vagina. This appearance is notable, because the uniform of the police officer, as well as the design of the police cars was fairly accurate to the actual police department.
  • In the 1998 film The Negotiator , the Chicago Police plays a big role within the film. The real Chicago Police Department provided technical support for the movie's SWAT teams.
  • The Chicago Police Department is used in the movie John Q to take care of the hostage situation.
  • The Chicago Police Department is used in the movie The Watcher, a 2000 film about a police officer in Los Angeles that comes to Chicago to find a murderer who strangles young women with a piano cord. Many chases are involved in ther movie between the Chicago Police Department and the character Keanua Reeves plays.The Chicago cop is James Spader from Boston Legal.
  • The Chicago Police Department is used in Angel Eyes a Chicago cop, played by Jennifer Lopez, is having struggles with someone she saved from a fire and her mom and dad renewing their vows. Her partner in crime is Terrence Howard.

[edit] Uncategorized information

  • Saint Jude is the patron saint of the Chicago Police Department.
  • Chicago police wear hats with checkered bands, popularly known as the 'Sillitoe Tartan' and named after its originator, Percy J. Sillitoe, Chief Constable of Glasgow, Scotland in the 1930s. While the checkered band is a common police symbol in the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries in Europe, the Chicago Police and the Pittsburgh Police are the only police forces in the United States that have adopted it as part of their police officer uniforms.
  • In the late 1960s, the Department chose to convert its telephone system over from an Illinois Bell-owned centrex system as well as other private lines, to its own PBX system. As a result of the change, it was necessary for the department to change their phone number in order to consolidate all of their phone lines in one prefix. It was never identified exactly who did so, but the new prefix assigned to the Department in then area code 312 was 744. The main switchboard's new terminating number became 744-1000. It was well known as a result of this, that the main number for the Chicago Police was "312-PIG-1000."

[edit] See also

Chicago Portal

The Cook County Sheriff's Police department also has uniform hats with the checkered board design.

[edit] References

  1. ^ A Career with a Future. Chicago Police Department. Retrieved on 2007-04-22.
  2. ^ Police. Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
  3. ^ "Chicago Chooses Criminologist to Head and Clean Up the Police", United Press International/The New York Times, February 22, 1960. 
  4. ^ Guide to the Orlando Winfield Wilson Papers, ca.. Online Archive of California. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  5. ^ Dementia in the Second City. Time Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-03-25.
  6. ^ Police. Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
  7. ^ Ryan Harris' slaying haunts mother and city. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
  8. ^ Sex Offender Admits To 1998 Murder. CBS News. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
  9. ^ Chicago Judge OKs $18M Settlement. DigitalJournal.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-14.
  10. ^ Tools of Torture. Chicago Reader. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
  11. ^ Tools of Torture. Chicago Reader. Retrieved on 2007-11-18.
  12. ^ City Council Approves $19.8M Burge Settlement. cbs2chicago.com. Retrieved on 2008-02-06.
  13. ^ Officers Charged In December Bar Beating.
  14. ^ http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-12-4129414574_x.htm.
  15. ^ Bond set for cop charged in bar attack. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
  16. ^ Cline takes on thug cops. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
  17. ^ Officer faces new charges in videotaped beating of bartender. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved on 2007-04-27.
  18. ^ Cop pleads not guilty to taped bartender beating. CNN. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  19. ^ Videotaped beating dogs Chicago police. Associated Press. Retrieved on 2007-03-30.
  20. ^ Chicago's Top Cop Resigns. WMAQ TV. Retrieved on 2007-04-02.
  21. ^ Mayor wants cop oversight unit out of department. Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
  22. ^ Woman Beaten On Video Sues Cop, Chicago. CBS Interactive Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-05-01.
  23. ^ Murder for Hire. Retrieved on 2007-09.

[edit] External links

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