COPA’s Racial Equity Action Plan (REAP) was created by the Race and Equity Learning Cohort in support of the Office of Equity and Racial Justice and adopted by COPA in 2023. COPA’s three priority areas are Public Safety, Community Engagement and Workforce Development. 

Our Racial Equity Action Plan Goals:
– To reduce racial disparities in police-citizen interactions.
– To promote a culture of accountability within the police department.
– To ensure that all communities have equitable access to resources and support. 

COPA seeks to fairly and objectively investigate and analyze allegations of police misconduct in order to provide official, objective, and evidentiary narratives and findings that incorporate the perspectives of all participants.   

Priority Area - Public Safety

All Chicagoans are safe across the city and have trusting relationships with law enforcement and first responders.  

Opportunity Statement:  

Consider the broader context in which police misconduct happens, including structural and systemic issues that exist outside of any one event, complainant, or officer, and begin to document, understand, and propose solutions to problems that undermine the safety of all Chicagoans.  

Measure of Impact: 

  • Increased community trust as measured by COPA surveys of complainants and the community.   
  • Greater community participation in investigations.  
  • Decreased time between complaint and concluded investigation, and between investigative conclusion and the enacting of penalty/final disposition.  
Goal Status Note
COPA will commit to the REAP and meaningfully engage with its contents. Continuous The Senior Equity Officer (SEO) is working with REAP team to support implementation of REAP goals.
Develop new ways to document, analyze, and communicate about structural and systemic issues undermining public safety. Ongoing SEO working with PRAD to ensure communication and data reflects equity assessment.
Ensure investigations strengthen the police accountability infrastructure to improve public trust. Ongoing SEO working with Training and Development to ensure anti bias training is reflected in investigations.
Department Strategy: Better understand participants’ expectations when they make a complaint and throughout the investigative process, thereby creating opportunities for restorative and collaborative resolutions. Director of Mediation has been onboarded and development of Mediation Department policy and procedure is underway.
Priority Area - Community Engagement

All Chicagoans have a meaningful opportunity to influence City of Chicago programs, policies, and initiatives. 

Opportunity Statement: 

Actively engage community members in a variety of ways to raise awareness of the agency and its function and to ensure a cross-section of residents can influence COPA’s policies, programs, and initiatives.  

Measure of Impact: 

  • Number of community partnerships established and engaged through District Councils and CPD planned community events.  
  • Number of people who subscribe to COPA’s public newsletter.  
  • Participation in COPA’s People’s Academy.  
  • The number of youths trained as Youth Ambassadors.  
  • Language accessibility of materials shared publicly.    
  • Number of Chicagoans reached using assistive technologies.   
Goal Status Note
Create a strategic operations plan to expand COPA’s visibility and deepen relationships with community partners to expand our network. Completed
Expand efforts to educate the public to increase awareness of COPA and the role we play in public safety and police oversight. Ongoing
Make our public-facing material more accessible for people of various community areas, languages and abilities. Completed
Priority Area – Workforce

The City of Chicago’s workforce reflects the demographics of the City, and all employees are connected to training and advancement opportunities.  

Opportunity Statement: 

Foster a culture of constructive communication, growth, and dissent by creating additional opportunities to amplify employee voices related to internal operations and pathways for growth to mid-level and senior leadership.  

Measure of Impact: 

  • Participation and feedback on COPA committees, perception surveys, NAMI surveys, staff-driven focus groups.  
  • Revised job descriptions and interview questions that speak to core values.   
  • Diversity in the applicant pool, COPA interview pool, and hired staff.  
  • Internal applicants, internal interviews, internal promotions/hires, outcomes of staff evaluations.  
Goal Status Note
Foster a workforce culture that is supportive of COPA’s diverse staff and promotes wellness, inclusion, and career development at all levels. Continuous
Develop recruitment, hiring, and promotional strategies to attract and cultivate diverse candidates who are representative of City demographics at all levels of the agency and align with COPA’s core values. Ongoing
Create equitable and transparent opportunities for professional development and growth in each unit/department. Ongoing

COPA’s REAP can be viewed in its entirety here.