The City of Chicago has established a community-police mediation program consistent with the city’s Consent Decree obligations. The 6-month pilot program will provide for voluntary mediation of selected complaints against Chicago Police Department (CPD) members. The mediation will be a confidential process in which the complainant(s) and accused CPD member(s) meet and, with the assistance of a neutral mediator, discuss the alleged misconduct with the goal of arriving at a mutually agreeable resolution.
Successful mediation will be a process in which the parties have heard, clarified, and understood the issues and each other’s point of view. The mediation may or may not result in an agreement. The participants are not required to reach a formal resolution. COPA will screen eligible complaints, notify the parties when their case is eligible for mediation, refer them for mediation, and close cases upon successful mediation.