Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Department (CPD) Superintendent Eddie Johnson today announced the expansion of CPD’s new smart policing strategy to the 12th (Near West) District, as the Department doubles the number of districts utilizing predictive strategies in 2018. In addition, 86 officers have been deployed to their district assignments, as part of the plan to grow the Department by 970 police officers.

“These men and women will do more than patrol their community, they will be a part of the community,” said Mayor Emanuel. “We are investing in new officers and equipping them with tools and technology to support what they are already doing. This will help officers make smarter deployment decisions and support more effective investigations, while strengthening proactive, professional policing.”

In the 12th (Near West) District, a station-based Strategic Decision Support Center has been installed, with additional POD crime cameras set to be complete next month, to support police in preventing, combating and responding to violent crime. The implementation of these predictive technology and analytical tools builds upon CPD’s crime strategy of targeted, data driven enforcement to build a culture of accountability among violent offenders. Year-to-date, across the first eight police districts that currently utilize these tools, shootings are down by nearly 34% compared to the same period last year, outpacing the reductions citywide, which stands at 28%.

“When we set off on our strategy over a year ago to hire more officers and integrate technology at the district level, it was with the intention to make CPD better and to make Chicago safer. I am proud to say that as a result, we have seen twelve straight months in a row of sustained gun violence reductions,” said CPD Superintendent Johnson. “Despite the progress we have made, which could not have been done without the brave work of our officers, our mission remains to be completed. We will continue to make investments so that officers can do their jobs effectively in true partnership with the communities we serve.”

The Chicago Police Department deployed 86 new officers to their district assignments, adding to the 720 new sworn members already added to the Department since the beginning of the hiring plan. Residents of the 1st (Central) district will receive 20 new officers, the 2nd (Wentworth) district will receive 20 new officers, the 12th (Near West) district will receive 10 new officers, the 14th (Shakespeare) district will receive six new officers, the 18th (Near North) district will receive 20 new officers and the 19th (Town Hall) district will receive 20 new officers.

After successfully completing their training at the Academy in December 2017, these new officers have now completed their field training and are being sent to their first district detail. The new officers will benefit from the new in-service training requirement, which begins with 16-hours of mandatory training and will necessitate that all Department members take 40 hours of continuing education annually by 2021. These officers also benefited from a new cultural awareness course taught at the DuSable Museum of African American History, and new de-escalation, crisis intervention and procedural justice modules.

During 2017, CPD implemented smart policing strategies in six police districts on the south and west sides where gun violence presented the greatest challenge for decades - 6th (Gresham), 7th (Englewood), 9th (Deering), 10th (Ogden), 11th (Harrison), and 15th (Austin). During January 2018, this technology was expanded to the 3rd (Grand Crossing) and 4th (South Chicago) Districts, and in February, to the 5th (Calumet) District.

POD Crime Cameras Expansion
The City will increase the number of POD crime cameras in the 12th (Near West) District by the end of next month. The POD crime camera footprint will be increased to support improved investigations including the recovery of reported stolen vehicles, more efficiently responding to calls for service, and the strategic deployment of officers.

Strategic Decision Support Centers
A Strategic Decision Support Center (SDSC) has been installed in the 12th (Near West) District that will utilize existing data sources within CPD, such as offender criminal history databases and past crime data. The new SDSC places all this information it into a single, usable platform to help district command staff and officers plan for patrol deployments or prepare to respond to a call for service. The new centers will each be staffed with a civilian University of Chicago data analyst who will collect and analyze data trends, and who partners with a District Intelligence Officer to coordinate the information directly with patrol units in the field.

Mobile Technology
CPD will also issue mobile phones equipped with crime analysis tools to every beat officer who responds to a service call in the 12th (Near West) District. These devices will give real-time access to district intelligence information to police officers in the field, helping them determine deployment strategies based on historical crime data. This mobile technology will allow for smarter, data driven patrols and significantly decreased response times to potential service calls.

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