Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Department (CPD) Superintendent Eddie Johnson today welcomed 102 new police recruits to the Department's Training Academy. This class of recruits is the third cohort in 2018 and another step in the city’s plan to grow CPD by nearly 1,000 officers.

“I congratulate the young men and women from every part of our city for reflecting the values that all our neighborhoods and communities share and answering the call to serve,” said Mayor Emanuel. “Adding more officers to the street with the training and technology they need to be successful, coupled with investments in our youth and community development, will continue to build on the progress we have seen over the past year.”

In addition to growing in size, the Department is also becoming more diverse than ever before and has the most diverse leadership in CPD history. This new class builds on that progress, as 63 percent of the March class of recruits have identified themselves as a minority. The group is also 21 percent female and includes 42 CPS graduates and 10 military veterans. Since the beginning of 2017, 1,437 new recruits, 52 Lieutenants, 142 Sergeants, 270 Detectives and 200 Field Training Officers have entered the Academy.

“Making CPD a better agency for every Chicagoan means investing in the areas that will help us to be even stronger partners with the community and sustain our reductions in gun violence,” said Superintendent Johnson. “Today’s class of new recruits are a key part of that commitment and I am confident that through the reinvigorated training they will receive at the Academy, they will become trusted resources as community police officers.”

The ongoing hiring plan is part of Mayor Emanuel’s comprehensive public safety strategy - including investing in proactive intervention strategies in historically divested communities, tripling investments in summer jobs programs and mentoring for 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th graders, and stimulating neighborhood economic development with programs like the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund. While more work certainly remains, investments in personnel, training and technology have helped to fuel reductions in gun violence for twelve straight months, with over 25 percent less shootings in 2018 compared to the same time last year.

During six months of training at the Police Academy, recruits learn all applicable laws and protocols for being a Chicago Police Officer. In addition to physical training, they receive instruction in procedural justice, cultural awareness, mental health awareness, crisis intervention and de-escalation, use of force, community building and critical thinking.

When these officers graduate they will have access to new tools, technology and resources to partner with the community and fight violent crime. That includes CPD’s district-based Strategic Decision Support Centers which include gunshot detection systems, POD crime cameras and mobile phone technology to support police in preventing, combating and responding to violent crime in the south and west sides.

CPD will continue its hiring plan with a police entry exam that will take place on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at McCormick Place.

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