Useful Terminology

Either open an issue in the issue tracker (use the "question" label) or post in Slack if there are other terms anywhere in the repo that you’re confused about - we’ll answer the question there and then we can expand this section!

CPD. Chicago Police Department.

IPRA. The Independent Police Review Authority. They are the interdependent agency charged with investigating all allegations of police misconduct. They were originally founded in 2007 after several neutrality complaints of internal CPD investigations.

FOIA. The Freedom of Information Act. FOIA creates a mechanism for the citizens to request any and all information from government on all levels (from local to federal). The only major exceptions are security (think NSA) and personal information (no, you can’t get government employees’ SSNs). This recently received a welcome boost courtesy of President Obama.

Victim. Don’t be fooled; CPD and IPRA don’t define this like normal people. In some cases, the victim is the police officer (i.e., they were attacked and had to shoot) and in somes cases, the victim is the citizen (i.e., they’re a victim of police misconduct).

DOJ. The Department of Justice. In many ways, the momentum this project enjoys is because of the Department of Justice. Following the Laquan McDonald fatal shooting (and the inaction that followed), the Department of Justice announced that they would launch an investigation (pursuant to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act) into the CPD’s practices. The report is expected in 2018.

Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. This law was the biggest crime bill in history and did a lot of things. However, the part that we care most about is this line: it is prohibited “to engage in a pattern or practice... that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States”. It is under this authority that the DOJ is investigating the Chicago Police Department. They will presumably enter a consent agreement.

• ^{More detail: Passed in 1994, it added the federal assault weapon ban, expanded the death penalty, eliminated the ability for prisoners to receive education by removing their right to Pell grants, funded provisions to help female victims against violence (commonly referred to as the Violence Against Women Act), prevented DMVs from publicly releasing information and expanded community policing (which essentially follows the idea a police force is more valuable if people trust him). There’s more but that’s the important stuff.}

Consent agreement. This is the DOJ version of a settlement. Essentially, the DOJ draws up a contract that specifies exactly what the CPD should do, what metrics they should use to measure their success etc etc. During the implementation of the consent agreement, the DOJ shall monitor the city and make sure they are improving. Should the city not agree to the consent agreement, the DOJ will file suit under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act. The DOJ rarely loses a suit and cities are usually eager to save the legal fees (and face), so it’s likely Chicago will agree to whatever agreement the DOJ proposes.