The Blog

Gonzo in action.

Video cameras mounted on squad car dashboards, videotaping of interrogations, GPS in squad cars and now audio recordings of CAPS meetings! You can only bend an agency tasked with maintaining civil obedience for so long before it breaks! I see a state of emergency brewing here.

"Video cameras mounted on squad car dashboards..." record both the officer(s) conducting the traffic stop AND the citizen(s) being stopped, so, how can there be any objections, by the police, to having whatever the camera 'sees' being recorded? I anything, the police gain a video record of whatever behaviors were exhibited by the occupants of the stopped vehicle. "....videotaping of interrogations...." When a citizen is taken into custody, or 'invited' to an investigative interview, BOTH the police and the citizen are being video and audio recorded. What possible objections could the police officer have to this? If anything, the citizen would be more likely to not want their every word and actions during an interview to be recorded, especially if said recorded interview includes potentially incriminating content. "...GPS in squad cars..." Wouldn't one think that police officers on patrol would welcome their locations being known to their fellow officers? Isn't this a good thing for those officers who work in areas of high risk to their safety? Why wouldn't an officer on patrol want his/her whereabouts known to those who they would be looking to for assistance? "....audio recordings of CAPS meetings!" What better way to show, and showcase, the fine accomplishments of the Daley administration's management of our police department, then to share each and every CAPS meeting with those citizens who could not, for various reasons, attend same. If every CAPS meeting were to be audio AND video taped and made available for download on the CAPS website, wouldn't this be an effective way to show all the citizens of our city how well this program is working? And what's this about the police being "...an agency tasked with maintaining civil obedience...", I thought the police exist to serve and protect?

Mick, Welcome to Bizzarro world of the Daley Administration. Control the media and you will control thought! When I worked for the City, we were told not to talk to any News Reporters or we would be punished.One of the reasons I was fired because I complained to Commissioner Murphy that I thought it was wrong to take pictures of City workers without them knowing. The Union wouldn't back me up. Briam Murphy is a ex-policeman This City is turning into a World class City. Third World!

Mick, Before you go to another story, check the budget of caps and who runs it. Everyone involved is politically connected and recieve loads of money threw overtime! Interview most Police Officers and they will tell you that they get just as much info from calls to the station. The Poice threw you out because they do not want you to dig deeper into the money involved in CRAPS!

as another dumb mick, I can say that the only real issue is this article should have been in the op/ed section. But then that would be the larger issue with the media in general. Taking your students to a CAPS meeting without having been there before is the epitome of a bad teacher. Aren't you supposed to be at least one chapter ahead? Ask people why they go to CAPS meetings in the first place - ask their background. And then tell me if you want your every word recorded. Discover that CAPS meetings are attended by victims of crime and the offenders. But then that would be true investigative reporting of ALL the facts, not just those facts you select to include.

Dear Mr. Dumke, thank you for the well written, informative op-ed piece you wrote. I only wish the comments above mine possessed the same qualities. The attitude of the police officer described in your commentary is, unfortunately, typical of what I have experienced in most of my interactions with CPD officers. I would be interested in knowing if members of the neighborhood objected to recording the meeting and/or if the students intended to reveal who provided information on local thug. These two issues were raised above by David Stumm and Orion, albeit in an astoundingly rude manner. However, the two points do have merit, and I can see how a recording might be problematic if it deterred people from speaking openly about the problems in their neighborhood. In reference to HOLD ON's comment about the police serving and protecting, I think the words "sometimes, when it is convenient" need to be added. My limited experience when I approached the police for help taught me to expect no service or protection at all.

People at the CAPS meeting are usually the same complainers at the local ward office. The Police never get any real input to stop crime at CAPS meetings. The Police stop crime by hard work in the street. CAPS is a waste of taxpayers money and I thank you Mick Dumke for bringing attention to the fact that the Police do not want you there for that reason.

> Pat Camden, the deputy director of news affairs. ... "Talking to our legal people, it's their interpretation that CAPS meetings do not fall under the Open Meetings Act," he said. wow that's really bad advice The police dept needs new legal people Mick linked to the text of the Open meetings Act, above Here's a link to an excellent, somewhat more accessible explanation of our rights as citizens of Illinois (Chicago is in Illinois), written by the Attorney General's office: Guide to the Open Meetings Act http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/government/openmeet.pdf a must-read for anyone who goes to public meetings in Illinois

CAPS is a joke Open Meetings act is routinely disregarded

The CAPS program exists for 3 purposes: 1. A haven for clouted, 'merit' cops, who are effectively useless on the street. 2. An easy assignment that's gets a cop through his/her shift with minimal risk and effort. 3. A public relations gimmick designed to give the impression that this mayor's administration gives a damn about the neighborhoods these meetings are held in. As in all of life, the above have their exceptions, but they are the rule. The anonymous tip hotline is the better source of citizens reporting criminal activities, though it's rarely as reliably accurate as the snitch hotline. If Daley's administration really wanted to assist the citizens, in providing a more effective and efficient line of communication between residents and their police officers, there would be an officer assigned to each district with the responsibility for reviewing and processing written complaints, concerns and information sent directly through the mail to a P.O. Box. Anonymity would be acceptable, if no response was desired, and much more intelligence could be gathered than through phone tip hotlines and street snitches. An open and secure Web comment board, such as this one, would also serve those connected to the WWW.

Anybody can do what Daley does. Lie ,Cheat and Swear! It's time for a change, anybody, but Daley! The CAPS program operates like any other watch dog group the may's people run. Over Budget!

TheCaps program is the modern day replacement for the officer whom you to walk a beat.Mike you should be ashame of yourself, by putting people in danger.You don't know how much damage you could have done. People have few outlets to meet with police and report gang and drug crimes. SOS should not have been disbanded, the jump out boys created fear among harden criminals. Afew bad apple won't ruin the barrel.

We do not need CAPS because the Cops know where the crime is. Cops know where the drugs are being sold. Cops know who is committing the crimes. Show me a Chicago Cop that ever solved a Mob crime. As long as Daley is in power, drugs and mafia will flourish.

The reason 'people' have 'few outlets' to meet with police is because there ARE few outlets provided by Daley's incompetent and dishonest administration. Deliberately. How many different ways of communicating exist today? And, of what use are these many ways, if they are neither used and/or the citizen has no confidence, (based on experience), that those in power pay any attention to what is communicated to them? A CAPS meeting is NOT the place for citizens to communicate information to the police about specific criminal activity in their neighborhood. A CAPS meeting actually ENABLES the criminal elements of a neighborhood to observe and identify those residents who will talk to the police. CAPS is, by no stretch of the imagination, "..the modern day replacement for the officer..." who used to walk a beat. CAPS is BULLSHIT. If the mayor wants to help citizens help the police, let him first help the citizens himself, by resigning.

CAPS would be more effective if citizens atually were part of the olution...such as doing walking clubs ( which can help monitor areas), neighborhood clean up (again,more eyes watching while making the neighborhood look nice), churches to do prayer walks (criminals don't like to do crime with church people around) Also, which CAPS meeting did you go to? i know in some areas, the CAPS meeting is a political tool to attack the local alderman

CAPs is nothling but the Machine 's citizen spy network.Guess who first proposed to put cameras on light poles 'RON DREAMBOAT HUBERMAN" A fASCIST MACHINE BUBBLEBOY.

the value of the CAPS meetings, as some have touched on above, seems to be that it puts a lot of people in contact who are concerned about crime, and are willing to get off their butts to see what they can do. phone trees, neighborhood walks and BBQs, etc do make a difference - I think teens especially are a lot less likely to be causing serious crimes (and I'm not talking about a group of kids hanging out, that's a constitutional right, not a "loitering" crime) when neighbors know each other, the anonymity of a large city can be conducive to an atmosphere where people think they can get anyway with anything because nobody is paying attention. CAPS meetings at least build networks in the community (although I'd still like to see the Beat cop come back, perhaps on bikes).

Here's another EXCELLENT, readable open government resource, includes both freedom of information an open meetings info: Open Government Guide: Illinois Prepared by: Donald M. Craven, Esq. Scott B. Sievers, Esq. http://www.rcfp.org/ogg/index.php?op=browse&state=IL

Mick, if your point is that CAPS and CPD suck because your plebes couldn't record the meeting, that's fine. But I suppose then, by your logic, any old criminal gangbanger can attend a beat meeting and record it to make sure that he knows who is ratting him and his boyzz out. Hell, why stop there, let's invite them in to the meeting and let them videotape it so they can be SURE they know who's trying to rat them out. It's my sense that the meetings shouldnt be recorded in order to encourage particpiation. Recording devices would merely serve to dampen and discorage participation. And on another note, did anyone at your beat meeting appreciate you using their beat meeting as a laboratory experiment for the eager little Jpupils?

This is in response to Orion's comment posted on October 12th. I am one of Mick's students and we are from Northwestern not Columbia. I was at the meeting where this ocurred and when the officer told us to turn off our recorders we all looked at Mick and this is when he began to argue with the officer. He argued more than what he said in this article and could have gone on for much longer, but in the interest of his students he decided to compromise so that we could accomplish the assignment that we were sent to the meeting for. So because he swallowed his pride for us he obviously showed that he wasn't backing down he was looking out for us so Thank You Mick. Oh and about the part of us being price gauged, Northwestern definately does that, but Mick is one of the best journalism teachers I've had so far and a true professional and since I am his student I think mine is the only opinion that should count when it comes to that matter.

Andrew has missed the point. These CAPS meetings are regularly attended by the criminal elements in the area. The gang-bangers and other riffraff already know that a CAPS meeting is the place to observe and identify those citizens willing to work with the police. For this reason alone, CAPS meetings are NOT the place for citizens to communicate information and concerns to the police. The ONLY purpose of the CAPS program is to give the APPEARANCE that this mayor's administration cares about the safety of citizens. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out the many ways citizens CAN communicate information on criminal activities to the police. They don't have to do so at a public meeting. Why hasn't this administration provided a web site, like this one, where citizens can say whatever they want to say to the police, by posting comments? We know why there are no longer beat cops, the police department doesn't have the manpower, period. We also know why the Daley administration continues the sham CAPS program, as a public relations ruse and as a haven for clouted 'merit police' hacks. The fact that Daley and his cronies have yet to bargain in good faith with the police labor union is an indication of how low a value the police are held in by same. The fact that the mayor uses the police misconduct of a few cops as a means to distract from all of HIS misconduct and incompetence is also revealing. The one thing that we see, time and time again, is the allergic reaction those in control of our city, county and state governments have to the light of day.

City govt ineptitude notwithstanding, that's totally lame. So with police right there people are afraid? What do you think is the solution, private security forces for everyone? I have heard this same excuse for why people don't phone in graffiti requests (the gangbangers are listening to the radio waves!). You can start a blog if you want a place to complain to the police and you can hope they respond, but I find it perfectly reasonable that cops can't - and shouldn't - just act on random, unsubstantiated info - unless you want to live in an Orwellian police state. Anyone can complain anonymously, but the principle of being able to face your accuser is a fundamental right in this country not to be thrown away. The biggest problem in this city is too many people stay indoors and veg out on the boob tube, and moan on message boards instead of going outside and interacting with their neighbors. Decent folks are far and away the majority in this city, it's long overdue to start living like it.

"The gang-bangers and other riffraff already know that a CAPS meeting is the place to observe and identify those citizens willing to work with the police." Trust me, they knew those things before CAPS even came into existance. What big secrets are being dished out at a CAPS meeting? "There are thugs hanging out on the corner at Blah and Blah." "They're dealing drugs in front of the building at 123 Sesame Street." Yeah, wow, big secrets. The cops already know those things, the thugs certainly know it and the people know it. The only people to whom info that that would be a revelation would be people who live on the necxt block over. CAPS meetings are the place for surprising revelations, which you'd know if you went. And if you have gone, what vital gangbanging secret info have you been privvy to at one of these meetings? "Why hasn't this administration provided a web site, like this one, where citizens can say whatever they want to say to the police, by posting comments?" A website? That's your CAPS alternative? Yeah, random unverifiable info from an unknown source on the INTERNET is MUCH better than hearing from acutal citizens face to face. Hell, I'd even take a CAPS meeting over a phone call. If you don't know, not everyone calling the cops are doing so with the good of the community in their thoughts. If the cops are over THERE, then we can do what we want to do over HERE.

Sorry, meant to say "...CAPS meetings AREN'T the place for surprising revelations..."

My favorite CAPS moment? When the Sargent stated that the rash of burglaries in the neighborhood were our fault (and that's a quote)! I didn't know blaming the victim was a community policing strategy!!!

Hmmmm, the censor is at work again....

if only the censor could just remove all the self-congratulatory fluff written by one "Orion" isn't there already a blog for overpaid patronage hacks somewhere? www.sittingonmyasseatingadonut.com or something?

i love how daley's cops whoop everyone...go daley!!!

I love how everyong tries to hijack my name. I must really be in your heads. You folks are so gullible, just like the electorate.

HAVE NO DOUBT, VOTE INCUMBENTS OUT Here is how to get it done: 1) REGISTER TO VOTE 2) Make a list of every INCUMBENT, (leaving those few incumbents who you are CERTAIN deserve to be reelected off of your list) 3) BRING this list with you when you go to vote 4) DO NOT vote for ANYONE on your list 5) If the INCUMBENT has only one CHALLENGER, vote for that CHALLENGER, no matter who it may be 6) If the INCUMBENT has 2 or more challengers, then: If the INCUMBENT'S name is listed 1st, then vote for the CHALLENGER who is LISTED LAST or If the INCUMBENT'S name is NOT LISTED FIRST, then vote for the CHALLENGER who IS LISTED FIRST (This will concentrate the most votes for a SINGLE CHALLENGER, thus providing the greatest possibility of the incumbent losing 7) whenever you have the choice to RETAIN or NOT RETAIN an elected official, vote to NOT RETAIN 8) Vote for whomever you choose, for whatever your reasons, it's your vote and you can cast it for whomever you please, but, remember, the INCUMBENTS are the people who have been, are, and will continue to be, the one's responsible for all of our current troubles Cast your votes with the sole purpose in mind of ousting practically all those currently holding, and abusing, the power and authority they've been entrusted with. This strategy, if applied, will guarantee that the incumbents will lose, every time. Primaries are the perfect opportunity for honest individuals, of either major party, to challenge the corrupt, old-school hacks infesting their parties. Whether one considers oneself essentially a 'liberal', 'conservative', a Democrat or Republican, or a mixture of both, one must acknowledge that the entrenched members of both parties have been, and currently are, responsible for fucking up the lives of the 'common citizens'. Independent-minded Democrats AND Republicans should flood their respective primaries with challengers, vote according to the HAVE NO DOUBT, VOTE INCUMBENTS OUT protocols, which will replace each party's respective incumbent hacks with anyone BUT the incumbent hack. In the general election, both Democrats and Republicans can have the opportunity to elect a candidate who is not a hack, not a part of the old-school hack machine, and may well be a person more authentically committed to the ideals of true democracy. Those citizens who are sick and tired, of the ways in which BOTH Democrats and Republicans have fucked up our city, county, state and country, can apply this voting strategy, in the general election, (should any incumbent hacks survive their respective primaries), to ensure that practically ALL incumbents are ousted. This will open up the general election for any and all independent candidates to have the chance of successfully challenging the major party candidates. GET REGISTERED TO VOTE VOTE IN EVERY ELECTION, (be it a Primary or a General Election.) USE THE POWER OF YOUR VOTE TO COMPEL CHANGE Try it, you'll like it.

JP Paulus is a real fucking idiot who should shut the fuck up.

me gullable too 4 supportin daley! *wahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

Stop having sergeants investigate CR investigations. I am going to give everyone a little lesson on how CR number investigations are completed. I know many know the process well however many do not know. First, when a citizen makes a complaint, per Chicago Police Department General Order 93-03, a supervising officer of the rank of sergeant or above MUST notify OPS within 1 hour to generate the complaint. The ranking officer must type up a “To/From” Report which is then faxed to OPS. It should be also stated that if a citizen makes a complaint to a patrolmen, he or she must immediately notify their direct supervisor so the sergeant can make the complaint. No matter how silly the complaint may seem, according to G.O. 93-03 a call to OPS must be made and they will decide if a CR number is issued. OPS will then decide if they will investigate the complaint. For the most part OPS will ONLY investigate brutality complaints. Some have estimated ONLY 5 to 10% of complaints made are for brutality. The rest will be sent to the Internal Affairs Division were they will decide if they will investigate the complaint or, if the officer’s district or unit will investigate it. Now for the breakdown. Only about 10 to 15% of the remaining complaints will be investigated by IAD. These are considered more serious complaints such as the ones we read about in the paper, complaints involving stolen money and complaints made against officers while they were “off-duty” or out of town. So what does this mean? Approximately 70% to 85% of ALL CR numbers are investigated by the district/unit sergeant. (If a complaint is on a sergeant, a lieutenant will investigate. If the CR is on a lieutenant, a captain will investigate. If a Captain is the subject of an investigation, ONLY IAD can investigate the CR number) To say the least, these sergeants have to work with the police officers they investigate. They hope the officers will protect their backs when they are on the street. It only makes sense that the sergeants will do everything they can to "not-sustain" the CR numbers they investigate. Do you really think a sergeant will give a guy he works with a 30 day suspension with no pay? Hell NO!! Neither would I if I wanted my back protected! And now you know the “REST OF THE STORY”.

I appreciate the service orion is rendering the public, as his comments ALWAYS stimulate the appropriate reaction from same. If only mayor mumbles would be so frank and forthcoming in expressing the attitudes of orion, which are the common ones shared by many members of the machine. Thanks, orion, you are a proud example of your peer group.

TALES FROM THE TRENCHES: Bucktown Block Club 16 What Will It Take? CFW http://groups.msn.com/BucktownBlockClub16/whatwillittakecfw.msnw In an 'open' meeting, I was asked to step out in the lobby after the meeting to discuss the 'Oakley Stalker'. The discussion did not go well. Joe Lake, Bucktown Resident

The police can't do anything right. Maybe they should disband the police department and let know it all citizens protect themselves. Save us a fortune in stupid court judgments which WE pay for ! Is someone in the Corporation Counsel's office getting kickbacks from Loevy & Lovey? Hello, Pat Fitzgerald!

Tell people to stop committing crime and you won't have to worry about cops you losers!

Website-City of Chicago Office of Professional Standards http://www.opschicago.org Joe Lake, Bucktown

"...GPS in squad cars..." Wouldn't one think that police officers on patrol would welcome their locations being known to their fellow officers? Isn't this a good thing for those officers who work in areas of high risk to their safety? Why wouldn't an officer on patrol want his/her whereabouts known to those who they would be looking to for assistance? ----------------------------------- GPS in police cars are good. It will allow the dispatcher to see who is nearest to a call and assign that job so police response will be that much quicker. But don't give me this officer safety bull. If the department was doing it for officer safety they would have bought radios with GPS in them. The radios are with the officer at all times. Having the GPS in the cars only gives the dispatcher the location of the car, NOT the officer. When an officer answers a call they leave the car parked near the location. Now what if the officer gets involved in a foot chase? I think you can figure the rest out.

My limited experience when I approached the police for help taught me to expect no service or protection at all. ----------------------------------- What type of service were you looking for? To make a generalized comment like that smacks of irresponsibility. The police are here to "serve and protect" but that is in the function as police; patrol neighborhoods, enforce the laws, and what ever else their training has taught them. Not to answer anonomous calls for noise (tell your neighbor yourself to turn their radio down) or domestics between a mother and her 12 year old son (son does not want to go to school) so now the police have to act as parents when the real parents can't or most likely won't take responsibility. And speaking of responsibility, maybe if the citizens of this fine city actually took responsibility for their actions maybe the police would be easier to talk to.

If you want police to address your problem(s) then do not make a complaint anonymously. It helps the officers involved if they actually have someone to talk to. But if you do wish to remain anonymous, fine. But then don't complain when your issue isn't resolved. And if you file a complaint against an officer then be prepared to sign an affidavid. Why it took so long for the city to fall in line with the law is beyond me. Even King Richard Daley attempt to go around it by saying that the city would not follow the law because he thought the average citizen would be afraid of retaliation was absurd. Police officers are entitled to the same safety measures as the common citizen as far as the law is concerned. Making a complaint against an officer, then refusing to sign the affidavid AND then crying when the complaint is non-sustained is stupid.