CHICAGO (CBS) — Trying to build trust in police.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a new program to address certain misconduct complaints against officers. It is an alternative to traditional investigations and will let some complaints be referred to a community mediation program.
“Creating a community-based mediation program for reporting police misconduct complaints has been at the forefront of our mission to foster an environment that builds trust within the community and instill confidence that every voice is heard,” said Lightfoot. “This pilot program gets us closer to our goal of improving the standard for resolving misconduct complaints and represents another step towards compliance with the federal Consent Decree requirements.”
Here’s how it works: an impartial mediator, the person who filed the complaint and a member of the Chicago police will meet at a neutral location where they can talk about what happened.
The city came up with the program, based on public forums, surveys and focus groups. It is set to launch this fall.