For the first time in nearly 22 years Chicago will elect a new mayor today –– if a runoff is staved. With a new mayor may come a new police superintendent.
For the first time in nearly 22 years Chicago will elect a new mayor today –– if a runoff is staved. With a new mayor may come a new police superintendent.
All six candidates –– Carol Moseley Braun, Gery Chico, Miguel del Valle, Rahm Emanuel, Patricia Van Pelt Watkins and William “Dock” Walls –– expressed the need for a new top cop.
ChicagoDefender.com recently sat down with Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis about his tenure at the department’s helm since 2008 when Mayor Richard M. Daley tapped the former FBI agent to restore the image of the police department and repair its relationship with the community. His contract ends March 1.
ChicagoDefender.com: Do you want to continue to serve under the new mayor?
Supt. Jody Weis: I haven’t spoken to any of the candidates. It would have to be a good fit. I would have to work for someone who I really believed in. If I were advising them, I’d say get to know the superintendent. You need to determine if he’s the guy you can work with. If you have trust and confidence in him and you think you guys clicked…whoever it is, they need to have a superintendent they click with. At the end of the day, it’s not about me, it’s about who’s the best person to work with the mayor and advance the city and the department.
CDO: What was the goal coming in to help change the department?
Weis: What I was hoping to do was bring the law enforcement strategies and reductions of crime and disorder that (former Supt.) Phil Cline was somewhat symbolic of with the great community relations that (former Supt.) Terry Hillard tried to forge. It’s hard for me to say yes we’ve succeeded. I think that’s more of a historical view that would be told. But, I do think we’ve made positive strides in each of those. The community has a better image of the police department now than it did 36 months ago.
I see the lawsuits against police officers dropped, so I think that’s somewhat indicative, some level of proof that we have improved our image with the community.
We established core values that had never been in place. I’ve said from day one, don’t brutalize people, that’s a federal crime under civil rights, and don’t be corrupt, another federal crime. Be professional.
Just about everyone has a cell phone with a camera. So, if you think you can do something and be quiet about it, those days are over. It’s not me you should be worried about, it’s the cameras in people’s hands, their homes and the blue lights around the city. You’ve got to change how you police. Noone is saying be less aggressive, but you have to be professional.
CDO: Talk about violence reduction initiatives.
Weis: We’ve started a new thing called predictive analysis where we’re using math to try to determine the predictors of violence. The key thing is to identify what the leading indicators are. Is it robbery at this time and at this location? Does that tend to spawn homicides next? The whole purpose is putting our officers where they need to be and when they need to be there.
Our homicide number (435) for 2010, the lowest since 1965, is with us having over 1,100 sworn vacancies. The only other year that was close to that was in 2007 and the year finished with 11 sworn vacancies. There’s clearly a doing more with less.
CDO: Any regrets during your time as top cop?
Weis: Probably the biggest regret I have is being absolutely unable to forge a more productive and positive relationship with the union. To steal a line from the President (Obama), I’ll extend my hand if they’d unclench their fists.
Sid Davis (member of Fraternal Order of Police) said to me that morale is really bad. I said, “Sid, send me over 10 ideas, just 10, that I could do to improve morale. You’ve been around for more than 20 years.” He offerd the list in 2009. I’ve yet to see that list. I bumped into him at a memorial service in Washington, D.C.. I said, “Hey, how’s that list coming.” He said, “I’m working on it.” I said, “Sid, just be straight with me. Give me one thing right now you’d like me to do to change morale of the Chicago Police Department. He said, “I’ll have to get back to you.”
Now, here’s a guy who works with the union and he’s got the pulse of all the police department that the morale is bad, and he couldn’t give me one thing to do differently to improve morale.
We got them a new work schedule; a (age) 55 and over medical program that they’ve never had before; new weapons; more training; and we gave them more alternatives to work with the community in use of force situations.
Every beat car now has a taser in it. They don’t have to wait for the sergeant or the field training officers to come. It’s right there. Sometimes just the threat of being tased gains compliance, which improves officer safety and improves the public safety. We’ve really made some positive strides.
I think if we could’ve had the union working with us, really kind of being a partner, thinking that both of us really wanted to take the department to the next level, we could’ve done a lot more than having to fight.
Copyright 2011 Chicago Defender
(AP Photo)
