Mayor Rahm Emanuel today joined Chicago Police Department (CPD) Superintendent Eddie Johnson and Chairman Ariel Reboyras in welcoming 131 new detectives to begin training.

“Detectives are embarking on a new chapter of their calling as public servants,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.“These detectives will not be able to fix what’s broken and bring loved ones back to life. But by working to bring their killer to justice, they will be able to give a sense of closure in knowing that their crime did not go unpunished.”

Public Safety Committee Chairman Ariel Reboyras joined Mayor Emanuel and CPD Superintendent Johnson at this kick-off event at Police Headquarters. The detectives are part of the Mayor and Superintendent Johnson comprehensive two-year hiring plan to add 970 sworn officers, detectives and supervisory positions of Lieutenant and Sergeant to the department through the hiring of new recruits, filling existing vacancies due to promotions and retirements, and keeping pace with anticipated attrition.

“This new class of detectives will help the police force remain on track to be strong in numbers in order to serve and protect our communities more effectively,” said Superintendent Eddie Johnson. “We are committed that as the department grows, we will continue to work hard to restore community trust by making our city safer and solving more cases.”

Promotional exams are administered for detectives. Once promoted, detectives receive eight weeks of training. These newly promoted detectives will be assigned directly to Chicago communities, work with residents in a partnership to address violence and add more resources into investigating and clearing cases. These moves underscore the Mayor’s and Police Department’s commitment to restore trust and rebuild relationships with the community, to ensure that violent offenders will be brought to justice.

“The Mayor and Police Department are committed to improving safety and security in every neighborhood,” said Chairman Reboyras. “As they continue to add more resources and sworn personnel to bolster the challenging work of the department, it also important that we acknowledge their sacrifice and that of their families to serve and protect this great city.”

On February 2nd, Mayor Emanuel and Superintendent Johnson commemorated the graduation of 291 officers in a ceremony at Navy Pier, one of the largest CPD ceremonies of its kind since the Mayor took office. The graduating class includes 108 new police officers and celebrates the promotion of 85 field training officers, 79 lieutenants and 19 evidence technicians.

This is the second promotional class of detectives in 2017. Last month, Mayor Emanuel and Superintendent Eddie Johnson welcomed 277 newly promoted officers to begin their inservice training. This represented the largest promotional class for each rank in the last five years and included 90 field training officers, 135 detectives and 52 lieutenants.

Since the beginning of 2017, 730 new hires and promotional classes have entered the Academy for recruit or in-service training. The next police graduation is March 15.