The purpose of the Community Commission is to:  

• Increase public safety
• Ensure that Police Department activities maximize public health and safety and minimize harm to people in Chicago
• Build trust and improve interactions between the Police Department and the people it serves
• Ensure that Police Department policies and practices are rooted in community needs and public input
• Increase public support for Police Department policies and practices
• Ensure that Police Department resources aren’t used to address public health or safety issues that other professionals are better equipped to address
• Encourage preventative, proactive, community-based, and evidence-based approaches to public safety
• Increase transparency and public input into Police Department operations, policies, and performance
• Give residents of every Chicago community meaningful opportunities to shape Police Department policies and practices that affect their lives
• Help bring Chicago into compliance with the Police Department Consent Decree
• Increase efficiency in the use of public safety resources, and
• Increase public accountability of the Police Department, COPA, and the Police Board

(Source: Municipal Code of Chicago, 2-80-030)

The purpose of the District Councils is to:  

• Build stronger connections between the police and the community at the district level
• Collaborate in the development and implementation of community policing initiatives
• Ensure that the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability gets input from the community
• Ensure that within each police district, there is a place where people who live in the district can raise and work to address concerns about policing in the district
• Ensure the independence and increase the legitimacy of the Community Commission by nominating all members of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability

(Source: Municipal Code of Chicago, 2-80-030)