U. of C. study examines police misconduct – Chicago Tribune

Good morning, Chicago.

Police officers with a history of workplace misconduct are more likely to have reported instances of off-duty misconduct, according to a new study released today by the University of Chicago Crime Lab.

The study, which examined 10 years of data from the Chicago Police Department as part of its implementation of the federal consent decree, found that police misconduct was predictable based on an officer’s complaint history. It was suggested that a relatively simple system for tracking past complaints to prevent future incidents could have a public value of “infinite” given the potential to avoid costly lawsuits resulting from high-profile incidents of officer misconduct.

Payments to resolve lawsuits over allegations of police misconduct routinely cost Chicago taxpayers millions of dollars each year. The City Council in March approved payments totaling more than $57 million to settle three such cases. Between 2021 and 2023, settlement payments totaled more than $220 million.

Historically, CPD officers who work in “Tier 1” districts – those of CPD’s 22 patrol districts where violence and other serious crimes occur most frequently – have been the subject of more civilian misconduct complaints, particularly officers who work in more specialized areas Plainclothes working units, but uniformed patrol officers are also often the subject of complaints.

The newly released study also showed that while officers at highest risk of misconduct make up only a small percentage of the entire force, members of this group were at a “severely increased risk” of reports of misconduct on and off duty.

Read the full story from the Tribune’s Caroline Kubzansky.

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