With the recent release of the Independent Police Review Authority’s 17-month investigation into the 2007 police-involved shooting of a West Side teen, a local watchdog agency said the organization earns good marks for its nearly two-year-old operat
With the recent release of the Independent Police Review Authority’s 17-month investigation into the 2007 police-involved shooting of a West Side teen, a local watchdog agency said the organization earns good marks for its nearly two-year-old operation.
The agency was formed in 2007 and investigates all Chicago police-involved shootings, and reported incidents of misconduct by the department. Last month, it began posting results of its investigations online, marking the first time such detailed reports have been made public.
IPRA currently has about 53 investigators.
Its first step towards making more information available to the public started late last year by providing online quarterly reports and abstracts of complete, sustained investigations.
Citizen’s Alert, a Chicago-based non-profit police accountability organization, told the Defender that IPRA has made itself available to community organizations and is working hard to get rid of any notions of mistrust the public has about the agency that has taken over the police department’s defunct Office of Professional Standard.
Based on the guidelines they have to work within, the agency has a good structure for organization, and is making good-faith efforts to be transparent, said Gerald Frazier, president of Citizen’s Alert.
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