Evaluation of CPD’s Compliance with the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act

April 25, 2018

Summary

The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General Public Safety Section has completed a follow-up to its April 2018 evaluation of the Chicago Police Department’s compliance with the clear and present danger reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies under Illinois’ Firearm Owners Identification Card Act.

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Executive Summary

The purpose of the April 2018 evaluation was to determine if CPD was in compliance with the

clear and present danger reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies under the Act.

OIG’s evaluation identified a subset of situations in which it was highly probable that CPD

members interacted with an individual that posed a clear and present danger, but that those

situations were not reported to the Illinois State Police (ISP) via “Person Determined to Pose a

Clear and Present Danger” forms. OIG determined that CPD had not been operating in

compliance with the Act, as the Department only submitted two reported incidents between

December 6, 2013, and April 7, 2017.

Based upon the results of the evaluation, OIG recommended that the Department:

1. institute agency directives that require CPD employees to complete and submit the

“Person Determined to Pose a Clear and Present Danger” form to ISP within 24 hours

after making the determination that an individual poses a clear and present danger;

2. ensure that all officers have ready access to the form during their shifts; and

3. create relevant curricula and provide adequate training for current CPD employees and

new recruits that includes:

a. an introduction to the Act, with special attention paid to CPD’s reporting duties

and the importance of the information being provided to ISP;

b. guidance on what constitutes clear and present danger; and

c. instruction on how to properly complete and submit the form and identification

of other necessary documentation that should be submitted to ISP along with the

form.

In its response to the evaluation, CPD concurred with OIG’s recommendations and indicated that it would follow all corrective steps to bring the Department into compliance with the Act.

In March 2019, OIG inquired about the status of the corrective actions taken by CPD in response to the evaluation. Based on CPD’s follow-up response, OIG concludes that CPD has fully

implemented the corrective actions to which it committed in its response to the original

evaluation.

Specifically, CPD has officially issued Special Order S06-05-04 “Person Determined to Pose a

Clear and Present Danger,” ensured that the “Person Determined to Pose a Clear and Present

Danger” form is accessible electronically to all officers on all shifts through the Department

Directives System, created relevant curricula, and provided adequate training on the Act for

current CPD employees and new recruits.

While OIG did not evaluate the efficacy of the new policy as implemented, it bears mention that the Department submitted 47 forms to ISP in the 10 months following OIG’s report, in contrast to only two forms having been submitted during the original evaluation’s 40-month review window.