Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy: A Case Study

CAPS started out as a pilot program before it became a largely effective policy in and around Chicago. The program was introduced to encourage community members and leaders to step up against crime and to work with one another to eliminate crime in the neighborhoods, in a time of police isolation from the community this was generally accepted around the Chicago area as it brought the two together. CAPS represent the “Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy”. The program was introduced back on April in 1993 as a pilot program that only took place in five neighborhoods, the center of violence. The program eventually gained traction and had tons of supporters within a year of its release which promoted the Chicago Police Department to implement …show more content…
No other program brings Police and the community together as clearly as it does here. Not only do the Officers provide strategies for improvement and protection, they also provide assurance and efficiency. This program is centered on the interests of the public which makes it innovative and reliable. A regular meeting with the public is called a “Beat Meeting”. There is a total of 281 Police beats in Chicago and it is fairly easy to find the location to attend based on where you live. The Police Department makes these meetings happen regularly and it mainly happens every month. Public relations during these meetings are the key to acquire information and gain trust with the community. The opportunity to gain vital information and get to know the public in a positive way is one of the main keys to success in this program. CAPS meetings are held by the Chicago Police Department even month or occasionally every other month and there are three different ways they are conducted. The first and most attractive way to conduct one of these meetings is to have a “team consisting of a resident beat facilitator (a designated community leader) and a beat officer”. The second and third are essentially rarely used, but include one of more beat facilitator and or one or more beat officers. Attending your local boat meeting is just the first step to succession. The next step along the hard process of recovery is becoming a court advocate, …show more content…
With extensive issues currently hitting the department over the past few months and little attendance in the beat meetings, one can see why the crime rate is creeping high. "We realized over the years, the community engagement has waned," said police Chief of Patrol Joe Patterson, who helps oversee the program. "There has been a decrease in participation at beat meetings … we 're trying to reinvigorate CAPS and get more residents on board with us. With the community 's help, we can reduce crime” (Lolly Bowean). CAPS have been and currently are one of the main fighting forces against crime in Chicago. Crimes occur at random times and without proper information from the community on what they might have overheard, an Officer can’t be at the right place at that time. The program is wrapped around tactics, and without the tactics in place, there is only nothing stopping a crime from being committed. The effectiveness on the program is circled around participation and with an all-time low currently hitting the city, there is lack of integration in the communities. One can’t claim himself as a community leader without helping himself and the local police, the local police are the ones that investigate and do the crime fighting while the community’s responsibility is to keep an eye out for suspicious activity. With prior information to crimes, people are able to provide rapid