Paragraph 444 Sexual Misconduct Administrative Investigations 2020

Executive Summary

Pursuant to Paragraph 444 of the consent decree entered in Illinois v. Chicago, the Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Public Safety section is required to “review and analyze” closed sexual misconduct investigations involving complaints “against a [Chicago Police Department (CPD)] member alleging conduct against a non-CPD member.” The consent decree requires OIG to publish an annual report “assessing the quality of sexual misconduct administrative investigations reviewed,” “recommending changes in policies and practices to better prevent, detect, or investigate sexual misconduct,” and “providing aggregate data on the administrative investigations reviewed” by OIG.

Paragraph 444 of the consent decree requires “the City” to provide OIG with the complete administrative file for each complaint of sexual misconduct against a CPD member alleging conduct against a non-CPD member within ten days of a final disciplinary decision. Neither CPD’s Bureau of Internal Affairs (BIA) nor the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) complied with this provision by directly providing investigative files for sexual misconduct investigations to OIG within ten days of their closure in either 2019 or 2020. The Independent Monitoring Team (IMT) overseeing compliance with the consent decree found that BIA and COPA were not in compliance with their obligations under this paragraph in Independent Monitoring Report 3, issued in April 2020. In the interest of complying with its own obligations under the consent decree, OIG has undertaken to identify any cases which are reportable under Paragraph 444 in the course of its regular, ordinance-mandated review of closed disciplinary investigations.