Page 31 - July2019 FOP Magazine

Community policing in the Depart- ment has been around for more than 30 years, officially known as the Chica- go Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS). There is a CAPS office and CAPS officers in every district. But it has evolved into a more powerful moniker of community policing, which more and more shows Chicago Lodge 7 members – beat cops and detectives – at their finest.
Community policing has become an investment from the Department in its greatest resource – its officers. Embrac- ing the strategy has become as powerful a resource as any to make citizens safer, happier and more empathetic about the goals and objectives Chicago Police Offi- cers have to serve their communities.
“Community policing is really the pil- lar of policing in general,” contends 3rd District Youth Officer Darnell Howard. “Lots of good comes from work in the CAPS office. Not just the good we do for the community, but the information we receive.”
It’s a basic principle of policing, really.
“It’s all about working as a team in the community,” adds Tom McNamara, a CAPS officer in 014. “When we come together to tackle problems, you can see the difference.”
The cover of this issue showcases the devotion that goes into making the difference in the community: Officers coaching kids and reading to them in school. Officers playing sports against citizens and dancing the “Macarena” for them. Officers painting and crocheting with seniors. Officers escorting girls to prom. (Did you notice her dress is made up of a blue line flag?) Kids giving hugs to officers and high fiving them.
Any officers who have ever had a mo- ment of feeling like the work they do is not making a difference – which would be just about everybody these days – should take a moment to peruse the De- partment and district CAPS social media sites. There are thousands of images like these with community members and coppers alike smiling effervescently.
“Community policing is at the center of the Chicago Police Department. We are embedding it through the work in the districts,” confirms Dwayne Betts, the Department’s deputy chief for com- munity policing. “The goal is for every officer to be a community police officer.”
The commitment of all officers has ex- panded community policing from a pro- gram to a core philosophy, perhaps the Department’s most powerful philosophy to build trust with community mem- bers. Desk officers, bike patrol officers, tac teams and all other units play a role in fostering the relationships that are
One of the most impactful community policing activities is the annual Peace in the Park After Dark event in the 6th District.
Community policing includes officers helping to clean up neighborhoods and participating in activities like arts and crafts with citizens.
breaking down the walls between police officers and residents.
Recent surveys that the Department has circulated reveal that citizens feel safer and more satisfied with service if they get to know the officers in their district. A similar survey of officers re- portedly indicated that they feel they can better do their jobs when they know people in the community.
“Clearly, the most visible form of inter- vention and partnership is when you see organizations and police on the corners in some of the roughest neighborhoods doing positive engagements to prevent criminal activity from occurring,” Betts adds.
When out on patrol, officers kicking a soccer ball around with kids, tutoring them in math, playing pickleball with seniors and any of the hundreds of in- teractions that take place in communi-
ties throughout the city every day show the police as human. As a result, citizens don’t just see a uniform when they see the police. They see a friend. They see someone who will help them. They see somebody who is on their side. That is the return on the investment in the De- partments reatest resource⁠ — its offi- cers.
The ensuing pages spotlight a slice of activities that show how members have made community policing a core phi- losophy and an everyday event. Multiply these by 22 districts and hundreds of of- ficers and, well, that is Chicago’s finest.
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