Implementing Pilot Reforms at the Chicago Police Department
Project: Chicago Police Department Reform Support — Ongoing
Client: Chicago Police Department
With a national reckoning on the role of police and mounting pressure to meet the requirements of the consent decree, the urgency to change the status quo at CPD is greater now than ever.
In January 2019, the City of Chicago and the Illinois Attorney General’s Office entered into a consent decree mandating effective, lasting reforms at both the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). Civic Consulting Alliance is a long-term partner in supporting Chicago Police Department reforms. We supported CPD in creating a shared vision, purpose, and understanding of future reform, as well as the implementation plan for the cultural change initiatives that must accompany policy shifts. We worked with CPD to develop a project management structure to guide the implementation of reforms being piloted in one district, District 006-Gresham, and eventually, department-wide.
Addressing Pain Points in the Implementation of Reforms
We supported three specific initiatives to address pain points in the implementation of the pilot reforms.
Created a training series to equip front-line supervisors with the skills needed to drive reforms. We leveraged the private-sector expertise of Civic Consulting Alliance’s Advisory Council, interviewing members specializing in change management and leadership development to inform the training approach.
Developed a preliminary pilot framework for implementing Unity of Command and Span of Control requirements, standardized the supervisor scheduling process, and developed tools to monitor supervisor staffing data. Our pro bono partner Slalom built a mock-up of an app for future automation of the current manual scheduling process.
Created a roadmap – including recommendations and an implementation timeline – to guide CPD’s merger of Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) and the Neighborhood Policing Initiative (NPI) to eliminate redundancies that prevent CPD from most effectively engaging and supporting communities.
“Though challenges remain, this year CPD has seen a significant reduction in homicides and shootings while instituting policy reforms within the agency. We thank Civic Consulting Alliance for their contribution to these efforts and their continued support.”
Building an Internal Reform Communications Strategy
With pro bono support from Zeno Group, we launched an audit of CPD’s internal communications to ensure that the purpose and practicalities of consent decree reforms are communicated to all CPD members deliberately and thoughtfully. This project will equip CPD with a messaging framework, engagement strategy, and implementation plan to drive internal communications and to further strengthen Department-wide understanding of and support for reforms.
Looking Forward — 2020 and Beyond
In the months ahead, CPD will continue to pilot this holistic reform approach in District 006 and beyond, with the goal to expand Department-wide within the next year. While implementing consent decree reforms across CPD is an enormous change-management effort, we are optimistic that by complementing core reforms with the culture change initiatives above, CPD is on the path to becoming a more just institution that in turn more effectively serves Chicago communities.
Thank You
Our pro bono partner Slalom built a mock-up of an app for future automation of the current manual scheduling process, Zeno Group, for providing an audit of CPD’s internal communications.
