Tag: Police Operations

Measuring the Performance of the Police: The Perspective of the Public

Executive Summary
The aim of this project is to review and critically assess the current survey methods used to measure police performance in common law jurisdictions. Specifically, an emphasis is placed on the questions that are asked on different public opinion and community surveys in Canada and internationally, with the ultimate goal of recommending better approaches to conducting such surveys. Other police performance measures, such as operational metrics, are also touched upon, albeit to a lesser extent.

A comprehensive and systematic literature review of published research of Canadian, as well as international literature in the field of police performance measurement through surveys was conducted. Surveys on all levels of geography – national, provincial, or municipal – were considered for review. Particular attention was paid to analytical research that looked into the actual questions asked on surveys, their meaning and whether they measure what they are supposed to measure. Analysis focused on public views of the police, and a considerable part of the present paper addresses the issue of satisfaction, trust, and confidence in the police
— Read on www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/rsrcs/pblctns/2015-r034/index-en.aspx

Consultants give Gainey plan to fix ‘overstaffed’ police, but new chief disagrees

Mayor Ed Gainey unveiled a long-awaited study of the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police’s staffing levels Wednesday, revealing research he has repeatedly said he needs to see before making major changes to the force. The 175-page report recommends drastically reducing the city’s number of patrol officers, but at Wednesday’s press conference, Gainey’s new Police Chief Larry Scirotto said he disagrees with that suggestion.

“This gives a new chief a great road map to start with,” Gainey said. Neither Scirotto or Gainey clarified which of the report’s many suggestions would eventually be implemented. Gainey called the report, from California-based Matrix Consulting, a “blueprint that can be changed.” 

The consultants found that the bureau’s patrol officer’s have 71% of their available hours left over after calls for service are handled — far above the 50% level they recommend. They urged the city to shift 188 budgeted positions out of patrol ranks and into a number of more specialized and community-facing roles. The city currently budgets for 463 patrol officers, though a number of those positions are vacant.

Read more HERE

Get the report HERE

Read how the City Council may feel tricked HERE

Is the Chicago Consent Decree Working? Consent Decrees for Police Reform: The Chicago Experience

Executive Summary

In 2019, the Chicago Police Department (CPD)—one of the most controversial police departments in the nation—was placed under a federally enforced consent decree that mandates sweeping reforms and subjects the department to the supervision of a court-appointed independent monitor. Although implementation of the decree is still ongoing, this report reviews the preliminary evidence of its effects.

Across a variety of indicators, it seems that the consent decree has not had an appreciable effect on police conduct or public perception of the department. And there is at least some evidence that the process leading up to the consent decree exacerbated Chicago’s already-substantial crime problem. While prior research on consent decrees suggests that they can sometimes have an effect, that outcome is far from certain, casting further doubt on the prospects of Chicago’s decree.

Why is the consent decree having little or no measurable impact? It may be the result of unwillingness on the part of CPD and the city to embrace reform. Alternatively, the consent decree’s ineffectiveness may be attributed to preexisting reforms that CPD had already implemented on its own before the decree took effect. Both of these explanations, however, cast doubt on the viability of the federal investigation and consent decree process as a tool for achieving police reform.

Read more HERE

Mayoral transition plan for transportation echoes priorities of advocates, including 20/10 mph speed limit

Last week, Mayor Brandon Johnson’s transition team released a sweeping 223-page report of policy recommendations across multiple sectors, including transportation. 

The transportation subcommittee that penned the corresponding section of the report is comprised of transit agency representatives, community stakeholders and advocates, including members of Active Transportation Alliance, Access Living, and Better Streets Chicago—three of six organizations that banded together as the Safe Streets for All Coalition, which formed to amplify the call for safety for people on foot and bikes in the months leading up to the mayoral election. The subcommittee is chaired by state representative Kam Buckner, whose mayoral run featured the most progressive and comprehensive transportation platform of the nine candidates. 

The resulting twenty pages of transportation recommendations in the report reflect the priorities of a group committed to transforming our current car-centric roadways into a safer, healthier, more equitable system for all. An introductory context section acknowledges how the combined damage of transit disinvestment, destructive highways and a concentration of industrial freight in low-income Black and Brown neighborhoods has saddled residents with poorer health outcomes and less connection to the necessities of life. It also acknowledges the blow Covid-19 dealt to public transportation in ridership and revenue, and the urgent need for new, consistent sources of funding to restore and improve Chicago’s transit system.

Read more HERE

2023 Mayoral Transition Report HERE

Arrests in Philadelphia nosedive while reported incidents increase

Interesting article on what is going on in Philadelphia. Is it the Krasner Effect? Read and decide.

Reported crime is up, arrests in Philadelphia are down. Experts disagree on the cause. A. Benjamin Mannes and Todd Shepherd break it down.
— Read on broadandliberty.com/2023/07/12/arrests-in-philadelphia-nosedive-while-reported-incidents-increased-over-last-five-years/