police-letter.txt

Dear Alderman,

I know you have a lot on your plate, but I would like to take a moment of your time to express my urgent support for the Police Accountability Task Force's recommendations for the Chicago Police Department. 

Policing is difficult work, and pervasive distrust between police and their communities can only make it harder. We should improve officer training for youth and people in mental crisis, and focus on de-escalation techniques. Community Empowerment and Engagement Districts, and a commitment to beat-based policing, could help officers get to know the concerns of the neighborhoods they protect.

Hiring and promoting more officers of color is necessary, but we should go further: the statistics on CPD's use of guns and tasers suggest endemic racism. We should implement universal bias training, and implement an early intervention system to identify officers with problems.

As with the OPS, the IPRA appears neither motivated nor equipped to ensure the safety and just treatment of Chicago residents. I urge you to support a community safety oversight board, and to replace the IPRA with a civilian police investigative agency. We ought to expand our body camera program, and implement a written video release policy. Disciplinary information, like all incident statistics, should be available online to facilitate public analysis and oversight.

I recognize that city politics is complex, and that we treat corruption as a matter of course. However, this ongoing tragedy demands our earnest and immediate response. Please, do your best to help. We cannot let this many die.

Sincerely,

Kyle Kingsbury