Page 18 - November2018

An innovative alternative to the consent decree
AsIsatandwatchedtheoralargumentsinfront of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals on the Lodge’s motion to intervene in the consent decree lawsuit on the morning of Nov. 2, I couldn’t help but wonder, “How did we get
here?” How did the relationship between the men and women who put their lives on the line and the citizens they serve and pro- tect become so broken?
Regardless of how we got here, a federally mon- itored consent decree between Illinois State’s Attorney Lisa Madigan and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is not the solu- tion. Clearly, other such attempts across the country have failed because no amount of additional paperwork, expenses or oversight will solve the core concern — establishing a pos- itive relationship between the various communities and the CPD. Rather, in my humble opinion, an open-ended consent decree will only cause further division among the interested parties. The City of Chicago and the CPD should think outside the box.
And then I remembered a presentation made at a recent National FOP conference. President Chuck Canterbury intro- duced a presenter who spoke about the innovative OneCOP
initiative. Perhaps the Chicago Police Department, mayor and AG should look into the OneCOP initiative as an al-
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ternative to the consent decree.
The OneCOP model (which has been endorsed by
the National FOP) is a proactive approach to address- ing tensions around police-involved incidents as well as ongoing crime and violence in local communities. Most often, cities and communities simply react to situ- ations — before realizing that it is too late. Chicago has seen
its fair share of friction within various communities.
On the first page of the OneCOP website, the mission state-
ment reads as follows (www.onecop.net):
The “One Congregation One Precinct” (OneCOP) initiative facilitates positive, on-going partnerships between local law enforcement agencies and diverse congregations of every faith tradition. This includes organizing various crime and violence prevention/solving efforts, hosting public safety briefings, pro- viding cultural and sensitivity trainings, conducting officer appreciation events, holding community safety workshops, and hosting forums focused on bettering the relationship be- tween cops and citizens.
Can you imagine hosting forums focused on bettering the relationship between cops and citizens? What a novel idea.
18 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ NOVEMBER 2018