Police Accountability
Building a world where everyone feels safe where they live.
What We Believe
The Police Accountability Team believes that everyone deserves to be safe wherever they live. We believe in divesting from the police and investing those resources in our communities. We believe in alternatives to policing to move to a more equitable system. As we build those alternatives, we must make sure that our police department acts with accountability and transparency. Everyone in Chicago must have a mechanism to hold the police accountable.
What We Have Done
Won the historic passage of the Empowering Communities for Public Safety Ordinance (ECPS) in 2021. After years of fighting for civilian oversight and increased police accountability, ECPS represents a major victory for community organizing and for the power of everyday Chicagoans to have a voice in their public safety.
ONE Northside started working for civilian oversight of police along with the Grassroots Alliance for Police Accountability (GAPA) coalition in 2016. In 2021, GAPA and another community organization, CAARPR, joined forces to merge their different civilian-oversight ordinances into one proposal —ECPS. The ECPS ordinance created a seven member civilian commission to oversee the police and 66 elected positions across 22 police districts. This is an unprecedented step forward for civilian oversight of policing, not just for Chicago, but anywhere in the country.
Ready To Get Involved?
