Chicago police officials told a federal judge Tuesday that civilians are about to get a much bigger role in cleaning up the department’s mess. The Chicago Police Department plans to bring civilian investigators into its Bureau of Internal Affairs in a bid to cut through a logjam of misconduct cases and move discipline and training along faster.
During a status hearing on the city’s federal consent decree, city attorneys and CPD brass said they intend to bulk up the bureau’s civilian staff and fill 25 investigator vacancies with civilians by the end of 2026. Deputy Chief Traci Walker told the court the bureau is funded for 144 positions and had roughly 31 vacancies as of last week. Officials added that the department expects to promote at least two classes of sergeants and other supervisors next year to tighten oversight. Leaders are also rewriting a general order so “accountability sergeants” stay locked in on misconduct work, and district commanders will now have to sit through weekly breakdowns of complaint data. Those steps, along with a 2024 audit that found many disciplinary cases drag on for months, were outlined in court, as reported by the Chicago Tribune.
“Internal affairs investigations must be done timely and taken seriously; quicker completion allows training and discipline to be applied faster,” Supt. Larry Snelling told the judge, making it clear he wants fewer files gathering dust. He said the city’s 22 district commanders will be put under closer scrutiny, with complaints at the district level reviewed every week and commanders reporting directly to him on how those cases are handled. His comments at the consent decree hearing were reported by the Chicago Tribune.
Consent Decree Pressure
The staffing push is unfolding under the shadow of a sweeping federal consent decree that has Chicago police operating under court-ordered reforms and watchful independent monitors. While the department has pointed to modest gains in “operational compliance” in recent monitor reports, watchdogs and advocates say slow, drawn-out investigations remain a stubborn weak spot. For background on CPD’s compliance efforts and the monitor’s take, see coverage from WTTW and the department’s own report from the Chicago Police Department.
What To Watch
Whether civilians in internal affairs actually speed up those cases will come down to hiring and follow-through on the new policies. Advocates caution that throwing more people at the problem will not, by itself, fix structural delays that have built up over years. The city is set to return to court for future status hearings, where the judge, monitors and attorneys will be watching to see if the civilian investigators and policy tweaks put even a noticeable dent in the backlog.
