Public Safety Section Annual Report 2018

Executive Summary

In late 2016, the City initiated the first stage of legislative reforms for police accountability with, among other things, the creation of an independent, dedicated police oversight office within OIG. The Public Safety (PS) Section was able to start from a strong foundation established through previous OIG investigative and audit inquiries into aspects of the operations of CPD and the Independent Police Review Authority. In the years prior to creation of the PS Section, OIG published 13 audits, advisories, and reviews on police and public safety subjects. OIG also investigated misconduct by police and police oversight personnel, including sworn and unsworn, patrol and managerial, in matters where previously existing oversight systems had faltered.

The Public Safety Section of OIG was established in January 2017, to enhance transparency, accountability, and the quality of oversight of public safety operations in Chicago.

In April 2018, the Section published an evaluation of CPD’s compliance with the clear and present danger reporting requirements for law enforcement agencies under the Illinois’ Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) Card Act, which found that CPD was not in compliance with the FOID Card Act and provided a series of recommendations on policy, training, and documentation as corrective actions.

In August 2018, the Section published a report concerning COPA’s external release of officer-involved investigative reports, in light of its obligations under both the Municipal Code of Chicago (MCC) and the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The investigative and disciplinary process under the MCC requires COPA and the Superintendent to complete their respective procedures before any disposition is finalized and prior to the release of any findings or reports to the public. OIG’s inquiry, however, determined that in one instance, COPA’s release of an investigative report occurred prior to the finalization of a disposition.

In September 2018, the Section published an evaluation of CPD’s School Resource Officer (SRO) program which found that no current Memorandum of Understanding existed between CPD and the Chicago Public Schools to structure the purpose, policies, and training of SROs.
On August 1, 2018, Joseph Lipari joined as the new Deputy Inspector General for Public Safety. Prior to joining the Section, Mr. Lipari was an Assistant Inspector General at the Office of the Inspector General for the NYPD. Throughout 2018, the PS Section and the OIG Communications & Outreach team conducted regular community and stakeholder engagement. The Section hosted stakeholder round tables, organized community conversations, and gave presentations throughout Chicago, as well as at CPD Academy classes.

In 2018, OIG also introduced its Information Portal, an interactive data visualization tool that provides the public with an unprecedented means of engaging and understanding data related to City government and, specifically, to CPD and the police accountability system. Through public safety dashboards, members of the public can access individual and aggregated data about active CPD officers by title, unit, and demographics; investigatory stop reports by beat, district, demographics, and age; and disciplinary complaints and notifications by officer, outcome, and location of misconduct.