Safety is an important issue for all residents and our office is committed to working with community stakeholders and our local Police Departments to prevent and actively address crime and safety issues. A critical component of combating crime is through active civic participation and partnerships with the Chicago Police Department. Working together, our community will continue to be effective in keeping our neighborhoods safe.
A major tool in encouraging dialogue between all community stakeholders is attending your local CAPS meetings. Also making official police reports on all types of crime is important for local law enforcement to target and address certain situations. If an issue persists, please communicate directly with our office so that we can help facilitate another crime prevention strategy or safety option.
Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) is a partnership between the police and community members to participate in community policing efforts in the area. CAPS is an internationally renowned program that encourages police and residents to engage in neighborhood problem-solving to reduce crime. A neighborhood area is grouped to form a CAPS Beat. Beat meetings offer the opportunity for residents to meet their local police officers and for the officers to address concerns directly from community members. Beat meetings are typically held once a month and generally last one hour.
Find out your neighborhood Beat and next meeting
In combination with police presence on the ground, the 1st Ward is incorporating sophisticated crime fighting technology to enhance our ability to keep neighborhoods safe and secure with the installation of a state-of-the-art police cameras in certain regions of the ward.
Police cameras employ a pro-active and comprehensive effort to stop crime in our neighborhood and deliver quicker response times. The camera is active 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and links directly to the Chicago Police Department Command Center. The “smart” camera technology can quickly deploy police units, as information is transmitted via laptops to mobile police units. Police cameras installed in other areas throughout the city have a proven track record of reducing and preventing crime.