Recommendation to Inform and Improve the Chicago Police Department’s Rule 47

Summary

Pursuant to the Municipal Code of Chicago § 2-56-230(b)(f), the Public Safety section of the City of Chicago Office of Inspector General conducts reviews of policies, procedures, and practices of the Chicago Police Board's disciplinary hearings and decisions to determine whether discipline is "consistently and fairly applied" and to make recommendations to inform and improve its work.

Executive Summary

CPD's Rules and Regulations includes its Rules of Conduct, which serve to inform its members of conduct prohibited by the Department. Rule 47 prohibits members from "[a]ssociating or fraternizing with any person known to have been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor, either State or Federal, excluding traffic and municipal ordinance violations." During its regular review of closed disciplinary investigations conducted by BIA, OIG identified inconsistencies across investigations in BIA's analyses of the relationship between the accused CPD member and the individual convicted of a felony.

While Rule 47 does not identify exclusions to the rule, BIA's investigatory outcomes have informally defined exceptions to its rule. For example, in one investigation BIA determined that a CPD member knowingly associated with a convicted felon, who was their sibling, and briefly allowed that sibling to reside with them. In this investigation, BIA exonerated the allegation of violating Rule 47, concluding that the CPD member's explanation to house their family member was "compelling enough to be exculpatory." Unlike similar policies in other law enforcement jurisdictions, CPD's Rule 47 does not address any familial exceptions to associating or fraternizing with individuals known to have been convicted of any felony or misdemeanor.

Outcomes in investigations where a CPD member has a non-familial relationship with a convicted felon vary significantly.

In order to inform and improve future investigations, OIG recommended that CPD: (1) reevaluate the purpose and/or goal of Rule 47 to include defining any circumstances that may be exempt from Rule 47 violations and make revisions to the policy accordingly; and (2) outline any reporting procedures that Department members may utilize when associating with a convicted felon. OIG also presented this letter with its recommendations to the Chicago Police Board.

OIG's letter to CPD containing its recommendations is attached at Appendix A, the Police Board's response is attached at Appendix B, and CPD's response is attached at Appendix C.

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