Police And Minority Communities Case Study

Strengthening Relations
Between Police and Minority Communities
Ensuring accountability for effective policing in Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods

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Strengthening Relations Between
CPD’s Goal:
The Best Service Possible

Progress Thus Far
As he began his third year as the top cop in
Chicago, Police Superintendent Terry Hillard took time to reflect on the Department and the progress that has been made during his tenure.
• Community policing strategy—CAPS— recognized as one of the most successful community/police partnerships in the country. • Major strides in crime reduction.
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He decided to sponsor a daylong forum on race relations between police and
Chicago's minority communities. To facilitate the forum, he reached out to Dr. Chuck Wexler, the Executive Director of the Police Executive
Research Forum (PERF). PERF is a Washington
DC-based organization dedicated to improving policing and advancing professionalism through research and involvement in public policy debate. Wexler had previously been successful in convening a group of the nation's major police chiefs and a community representative from their jurisdictions to discuss police/community race relations.

Wexler talked it out with Hillard and his executive command staff. They decided for the discussion to be fruitful is was essential to have the right mix of people at the table. First, it was agreed that personal invitations would be made to an equal number of police and community representatives and that the group size would not exceed 32 members. In addition to his top command staff,
Hillard
hand-picked
Department members from all ranks to participate in the forum. In recruiting the community leaders, Hillard looked for people who would
“tell it like it is”—those who had previously voiced their criticism of the Department when
“I told them to critically examine everything we do, and to make recommendations to me about how we can strengthen what we do—everything from recruitment ... to selection and promotion ... to training ... to how we engage and disengage the public in our encounters... to informing the public on how we investigate and discipline our own officers.”
“As we develop short and long term strategies that will change our culture and the way we interact with our customers, one thing is for sure,” Hillard said, “this group will continue to help make sure we are on the right track.”

Hillard Vows to Make
Five Issues #1 Priority
At a press conference held the following week, flanked by the members of Forum, Hillard outlined the five issues noting their seriousness and vowing to work with the community to face them head on. He acknowledged that race relations and policing in this country is a serious and real problem and expressed confidence that with the help of people like the
Forum members, solutions could be found. “At