767-page study finds some of CPD’s most violent districts are overstaffed
A comprehensive study conducted by Matrix Consulting Group has shed light on the workforce allocation within the Chicago Police Department (CPD). The 767-page report delves into various aspects of CPD’s operations, with a particular focus on district-by-district breakdowns of patrol effectiveness.
One of the key findings of the study is the disparity in proactive time among CPD districts. Proactive time refers to the percentage of an officer’s on-duty hours that are not consumed by handling calls, allowing for proactive policing, community engagement, and problem-solving. The study set a minimum target of 40% proactive time.
Surprisingly, some of the city’s most violence-plagued districts were found to be among the most overstaffed, while safe and affluent districts were deemed understaffed. For example, the Near West (12th) District, which covers areas from the West Loop to Humboldt Park, has a proactive time rate of just 9%, well below the target threshold. On the other hand, the Lincoln (20th) District in Uptown and Edgewater was identified as the most overstaffed district, with a proactive time rate of 63%.
The study also highlighted the need for a more balanced distribution of resources across CPD districts. While some districts like Englewood (7th) and Austin (15th) were found to be overstaffed despite high rates of violent crime, others such as Chicago Lawn (8th) and South Chicago (4th) were identified as understaffed despite facing significant challenges.
In terms of recommendations, Matrix Consulting Group suggests maintaining current personnel levels in overstaffed districts while allocating additional officers to understaffed districts to bring them up to the 40% proactive time standard. This would require the creation of 273 new officer positions, bringing total patrol staffing to 3,643 and increasing citywide proactive time to 45%. The report also calls for annual rebalancing of officer allocations based on workload data.
Additionally, the study proposes improvements in supervision by adding 53 additional sergeant positions and reducing scheduling complexity. It also recommends replacing the beat-based deployment system with a sector-based model to enhance geographic accountability and assignment manageability.
Overall, the Matrix Consulting Group report provides valuable insights into CPD’s workforce allocation and offers a roadmap for optimizing resources to improve policing effectiveness across Chicago’s diverse neighborhoods.
