Weis pledges progress on police diversity
BY JOHN GREENFIELD
March 26, 2008 | 10:00 PM
New Chicago Superintendent Jody Weis says the department isn't diverse enough, and that he aims to do something about it.
"Our police department probably doesn't accurately reflect the diversity of Chicago," he said.
He added that a recent, sweeping round of personnel changes was aimed partially at increasing diversity.
Weis, who left the FBI's top job in Philadelphia to command the police department, spoke this afternoon at a meeting of the Chicago Crime Commission, a watchdog group.
The superintendent said he's planning a major public-relations push to counter the damage done to the department's image by a small number of "bad apples" in blue.
Weis said he'll combat police misconduct by holding commanders accountable for the actions of their officers, noting that policy and training issues are to blame for many problems in the field.
He also acknowledged that some Chicago residents fear the police.
"We can not function without the trust and cooperation of the citizens we serve," he said. "We can not be an occupying force."
The force's reputation has been tainted by incidents of corruption and brutality, such as the Jon Burge police torture case and recently released footage of an off-duty officer beating a female bartender.
Shortly after he was sworn in, Weis replaced 21 of the city's 25 police commanders and appointing new heads of the patrol, detective, and strategic deployment bureaus and a new first deputy superintendent.
"You've got to have your people in place," he said.
The superintendent also named Peter Brust, an ex-Los Angeles FBI agent, to lead the newly created Bureau of Professional Standards, which will supervise training and internal affairs operations, as a strategy to help clean up the force.
"A system of fair and consistent discipline is a very useful tool," said Weis.
Weis, noting the proliferation of cameras in the city, encouraged cops to come clean about honest mistakes because the public is sure to find out about them.
"They say there's a thousand eyes in the night. Now there's 10,000 cameras - every kid on the street has a camera," he said.
Weis said Mayor Richard M. Daley had given him complete freedom to initiate change at the department.
He added that he ran the new hires by the mayor as a courtesy but was assured that if Weis was comfortable with the new staff, Daley would have no objections.
"Our police department probably doesn't accurately reflect the diversity of Chicago," he said.
He added that a recent, sweeping round of personnel changes was aimed partially at increasing diversity.
Weis, who left the FBI's top job in Philadelphia to command the police department, spoke this afternoon at a meeting of the Chicago Crime Commission, a watchdog group.
The superintendent said he's planning a major public-relations push to counter the damage done to the department's image by a small number of "bad apples" in blue.
Weis said he'll combat police misconduct by holding commanders accountable for the actions of their officers, noting that policy and training issues are to blame for many problems in the field.
He also acknowledged that some Chicago residents fear the police.
"We can not function without the trust and cooperation of the citizens we serve," he said. "We can not be an occupying force."
The force's reputation has been tainted by incidents of corruption and brutality, such as the Jon Burge police torture case and recently released footage of an off-duty officer beating a female bartender.
Shortly after he was sworn in, Weis replaced 21 of the city's 25 police commanders and appointing new heads of the patrol, detective, and strategic deployment bureaus and a new first deputy superintendent.
"You've got to have your people in place," he said.
The superintendent also named Peter Brust, an ex-Los Angeles FBI agent, to lead the newly created Bureau of Professional Standards, which will supervise training and internal affairs operations, as a strategy to help clean up the force.
"A system of fair and consistent discipline is a very useful tool," said Weis.
Weis, noting the proliferation of cameras in the city, encouraged cops to come clean about honest mistakes because the public is sure to find out about them.
"They say there's a thousand eyes in the night. Now there's 10,000 cameras - every kid on the street has a camera," he said.
Weis said Mayor Richard M. Daley had given him complete freedom to initiate change at the department.
He added that he ran the new hires by the mayor as a courtesy but was assured that if Weis was comfortable with the new staff, Daley would have no objections.
Tagged: Police, police misconduct, Jody P. Weis
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