Futterman Releases Study of Chicago Police Department's "Broken System"

"The Use of Statistical Evidence to Address Police Supervisory and Disciplinary Practices: The Chicago Police Department’s Broken System," a study authored by Craig Futterman, Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Civil Rights and Police Accountability Project at the Edwin F. Mandel Legal Aid Clinic, Clinical Lecturer Melissa Mather, and Melanie Miles, a recent law graduate, was released yesterday. The study presents a comprehensive statistical analysis of the Chicago Police Department’s "broken system" for investigating complaints of civilian abuse. Among other findings, the study notes that:

• Excessive force complaints are 94 percent less likely to be sustained by the CPD than they are by other large municipal police departments across the country.
• In more than 85% of cases, the accused officers are not even interviewed beyond filling out a brief form.
• A relatively small percentage of the force is responsible for most of the abuse complaints. During the period May 2001 - May 2006, 10,387 officers had 0 to 3 complaints. Another 2,451 officers had 4 to 10 complaints. 662 officers had more than 10 complaints. These 662 "repeaters" were named in 10,733 complaints.

The study has received a good deal of media attention, with articles in the New York Times and Chicago Tribune and stories on Chicago Public Radio and Fox News Chicago.

You might also want to read this profile of Futterman and the project he leads from The University of Chicago Magazine.

Comments

[policeriot/chicago]

I want to thank Prof. Mr. Craig Futterman and his students for compiling this extensive research regarding CPD. We need to use the material,get it out to the national media.It appears many local media members are protecting and hiding facts concerning police crime and core criminal elements of many chicagoland police dept.Does anyone believe we will ever bring police into mandatory random class 5 drug/alcohol screening.A majority of the 'bad' cops would be removed swiftly from the force.Again thanks