WHEREAS, The Office of Inspector General released a report on April 11, 2019 on how the Chicago Police Department ("CPD") classifies people as gang members; and
WHEREAS, The report found that African American and Latino males comprise over 90% of the 134,242 individuals identified as gang members in Gang Arrest Cards over the past 20 years; and
WHEREAS, In addition, thirteen of the City's 77 community areas account for over 50% of Gang Arrest Cards; and
WHEREAS, All 13 of these community areas are on the South and West Sides of Chicago, and, in particular, the communities of Austin, North Lawndale, Humboldt Park, and South Lawndale collectively account for approximately 24% of all Gang Arrest Cards produced; and
WHEREAS, These findings indicate that CPD lacks sufficient controls in identifying gang members, as well as generating, maintaining and sharing gang-related data through the use of its so-called gang databases; and
WHEREAS, The report further indicates that CPD's gang information practices lack procedural fairness protections and raise significant data quality and transparency concerns; and
WHEREAS, CPD's practices and lack of transparency regarding its gang member designations and databases strain police-community relations; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this twenty-fourth day of July, 2019, do hereby call upon the City Council Committee on Public Safety to convene a hearing concerning the April 11, 2019 report from the Office of Inspector General concerning how individuals are designated as gang members, and how CPD maintains its gang databases; and
Alderman, 29th Ward
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That we call upon CPD's Superintendent, or his knowledgeable designee, and other individuals with pertinent knowledge, to attend this hearing in orcjer to provide information about how CPD identifies individuals as gang members and how CPBOnanages its gang databases.
