With the election of a new mayor just around the corner, Chicago must ensure that the next police superintendent is a principled, dynamic change agent who understands that the pursuit of police reform is a central element to an effective crime-fighting strategy.
The consent decree between Chicago and the Illinois attorney general should be seen as an opportunity to improve policing and enhance community trust. Trust is essential to police addressing a rise in violent crime and providing other important community services.
A consent decree is not simply an outline for change, but a road map to excellence that holds the city responsible for funding and implementing best practices. Too often the tools necessary to implement change such as body cameras, in-car video, officer monitoring systems, wellness programs, enhanced training, state-of-the-art technology, a robust internal affairs unit and a fully staffed office of constitutional policing go unfunded due to a lack of urgency or support from city leaders.
Such tools should be mandates, not options.
Current discussion on police reform often gets reduced to controversial, singular topics such as officer misconduct, the crafting of policy or the use of certain police tactics, such as chokeholds or no-knock warrants. These issues are certainly important and must be addressed in the reform agenda, but singularly focusing on them limits the potential of true police reform.
A recent report issued by 21st Century Policing Solutions (21CP,) an organization of national policing experts, offers a sensible guide for police reform in communities throughout the country, including Chicago as it transitions to a new mayor.
A critical element of police reform identified in the 21CP report is police department leadership. A police department must be led by a change agent who believes in policing constitutionally and professionally by treating residents with fairness, dignity and respect, and who surrounds themselves with a senior management team that embodies these principles.
This team must pursue building legitimacy and community trust. City leadership should support them in establishing a policing culture rooted in constitutional principles.
This leadership team must also prioritize improving morale among rank-and-file officers, understanding that true culture change comes more from the bottom up than the top down. Constant canceling of days off, a promotional system that is not seen as fair and has no set schedule and a general “us versus them” attitude between management and the union are just a few factors that make officers believe that things are only done to them, not with them.
Next, community members must be valued partners in the reform process. This means that police department leadership must be willing to meet regularly with and listen carefully to community representatives who want to contribute to the change process.
In addition, as changes are implemented by the police department, it is critical to communicate those changes effectively. Policing should not be a mystery to the community. Transparency and information sharing are central to trust-building.
Third, policing must be rooted in the needs of each neighborhood. Reliance on centralized and specialized police units should be reassessed with priority given to consistent geographic deployment of officers. Police derive their authority from the community and, as a result, should involve the community as an equal partner in addressing crime and other public safety concerns.
Fourth, recognizing that police are part of the community, recruitment efforts must ensure that the department reflects the community it serves. Also, promotions must be fair and equitable, which will enhance supervision and accountability, as well as morale. It is also critical that officer training reflects the expectations of the community and focuses on the actual skills required to perform effectively in the field.
Fifth, the community must have faith in the accountability structures of the policing system. Authority should be delegated to local commanders, but they must be held accountable for effective leadership and management. Command staff members must support local commanders and should be judged on their ability to solve problems with community members, not despite them.
Accountability structures must also be designed to swiftly address misconduct when it occurs. Timely investigation and adjudication are central to the establishment of police legitimacy in the community.
With change on the horizon in Chicago, city leaders must be laser-focused on achieving police reform as the primary tool to address violent crime and improve the quality of life in neighborhoods throughout the city. Belief and investment in police reform will also lead to the acceleration of consent decree compliance.
Such commitments have yielded substantial improvements in community trust and significantly reduced levels of violent crime in other jurisdictions. Chicago now has the opportunity to do the same but can do so in a way that represents the future of policing in America.
More Top Picks Best Beginner Acoustic Guitar Kit
Police reform is a central solution to addressing violent crime and improving quality of life in the city. It must happen now. The community and police officers alike have waited long enough.
Chief Kathleen O’Toole is a partner at 21st Century Policing Solutions, a former Boston police commissioner and the former police chief of the Seattle Police Department. Charlie Beck is the former police chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email [email protected].