Review of Opportunities For Civilianization in the Chicago Police Department

Executive Summary

The OIG recommended that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) civilianize 292 positions to save the City an estimated $6.4 to $16.6 million annually.

The report analyzed opportunities to civilianize certain positions in 30 separate CPD units, and found that at least 292 full-time positions of the 370 reviewed could be filled by civilians.

The 30 units reviewed were primarily non-law-enforcement units the OIG deemed likely to contain positions that could be civilianized. This assumption bore out in the analysis, as the OIG uncovered sworn law enforcement officers performing purely administrative tasks such as travel arrangement (Finance Division), data entry (Records Inquiry Section), nursing (Medical Services Section), graphic design (General Support Division), accounting (Bureau of Organized Crime), timekeeping (Office of the First Deputy Superintendent), and grant writing (Research and Development Division).