Chicago Police Supt. David Brown is pulling 100 officers out of the department’s headquarters and reassigning them to patrol districts across the city next month.
Starting June 7, the 100 officers will be permanently moved to the CPD’s 22 patrol districts that cover the city, according to a department statement. However, it was not immediately known how the department would allocate those officers.
Other officers still permanently assigned to headquarters will be deployed to the districts on rotating two-week schedules “to bolster our police presence throughout the summer months,” according to the department. CPD personnel who work in positions related to the consent decree will not be moved.
“By reallocating more officers back to the streets, we are addressing the concerns and needs of residents head-on,” CPD Supt. David Brown said in a statement. “This will give us more officers to improve our neighborhood policing efforts and provide a greater opportunity to strengthen the relationships with the residents we serve.”
The reassignment comes about five months after the department announced the start of its biggest reorganization in decades.
More than 80 unmarked police vehicles will be converted to marked vehicles to support the influx of patrol officers, the department said.
The CPD will also reconfigure its newly formed Bureau of Counterterrorism, which will now include the Criminal Networks Group, which had previously operated under the Bureau of Detectives.
The Criminal Networks Group includes the Gang Investigations and Narcotics divisions, as well as officers who are detailed to task forces that work in concert with the FBI, DEA and ATF.
Last week, the deputy chief who oversaw the Criminal Networks Group and the commander of the Narcotics Division were demoted. Narcotics had recently come under scrutiny from Mayor Lori Lightfoot for its heavy spending on overtime.
