CANARYVILLE — Ald. Patrick D. Thompson (11th) has been reading the controversial U.S. Justice Department report on the Chicago Police Department, and he's now working on his own recommendations to improve the city's embattled public safety branch.
"One of the things that I asked about and one of the things I'm pushing for is to provide them the radios," Thompson said at a Tuesday night CAPS meeting at St. Gabriel. "They still use the old radios, so we can all listen on the scanners, and everyone runs around and listens to them on the scanner. They should be on digital."
The public should not have access to law enforcement airwaves with police scanners, Thompson said.
"We shouldn't be able to listen to the police calls," Thompson said. "The bad guys can hear what's going on on the radios. ... We should provide [police] with the equipment they need."
The result of the report is a deal between the Justice Department and the city to come up with an agreement that will "include reforms of CPD's use-of-force practices and accountability mechanisms, as well as its training, community policing, supervision, data collection, transparency, officer wellness systems and promotion practices."
Among the report's recommendations:
• The Police Department should adopt use-of-force practices that "minimize" use of force.
• Change the process for reporting and reviewing incidents of use of force.
• Change how the Police Department responds during officer-involved shootings to "prevent collusion and contamination of witnesses."
• Address interactions with people who are in crisis through training and new policies.
• Improve how the city and the Police Department hold officers accountable and improve police oversight.
• Give investigative agencies the necessary resources.
• Make changes to the disciplinary system for police officers.
• Provide more training to officers.
• Reform Police Department supervisor structures.
• Increase department transparency and ensure that promotions are fair.
• "Ensure that officers police fairly and compassionately in all neighborhoods, including in those with high rates of violent crime and in minority communities."
• Improve the Police Department's data collection.
Thompson said the Justice Department report should not lead residents to turn on Chicago police officers, many of them South Side residents.
"I think where it failed was perhaps the city — the administration — in providing enough training and not providing the proper oversight," Thompson said. "That's not the police officers' fault. That's the management's responsibility. ... Hopefully we can learn from this."
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