CompStat Disconnect

First up, we have this from an alert reader:

• Edwin C. Yohnka, Director of Communications and Public Policy ACLU Illinois spokesman this morning on WLS AM radio told host that ACLU is VERY pleased that the desired result of less police street stops is being accomplished now. Yohnka said that there is absolutely "NO correlation between street stops and crime rates."

Of course, Yohnka cites exactly zero facts to support this contention. He just spouts it and ::VOILA:: it must be true, because everyone knows the ACLU would never lie to promote an agenda, right?

We, on the other hand, will cite decades worth of actual street knowledge and personal observations - if the jagoffs aren't feeling pressure to behave, they're going to push, push, and push until they come up against resistance. And that means selling dope, carrying guns, settling old feuds, robbing, raping, pillaging. Lo and Behold, murders are up along with robberies, rapes, and thefts.

Who are you going to believe, the ACLU or your own lying eyes?

Now, we get this report from a CompStat attendee:

• There is a big disconnect going on at Compstat between Mcnaughton's brain and Department policy. He keeps harping on these District Commanders for ISRs in areas where there are shootings. According to the Chief, police should be stopping and ISRing known members of the gangs involved in the conflicts if they are out on the streets.
  
  Likewise, for robberies he suggests doing ISR's on known robbers in the area and generally doing more street stops on people where the robberies are occurring.
  
  No, we are not going to do that! The department put on paper exactly when we can and cannot conduct a street stop. The above situations do not meet the criteria 35th put out for public consumption. Even an anonymous call with a description is no longer in and of itself enough to conduct a Terry stop (according to the training materials). Let your readers know that the bosses are gonna be coming in and trying to pressure them in to making illegal stops based on Mc Naughton's misguided advice.

Has a single exempt department member attended ISR training yet? Do they have any idea how goofy the training is? It's changed at least twice now, mostly based on questions that arose during "What if..." scenarios and the fact that the form itself has now been altered in a major way.

Reasonable Articulable Suspicion based on the conclusion that a crime will occur, has occurred or is occurring. Anonymous call? Not good enough. Gathering on the corner? Nope. Running away at the approach of an officer? The Supreme Court said "No" many years ago. Even membership in a criminal organization, absent any other factors, isn't enough to stop someone. But McNaughton wants gang bangers stopped on the public way? Known robbers? Based on what exactly?

Here's the facts - the Department has seen street stops fall by nearly 90% (87% is the last figure we saw.) Certain units, like Saturation Teams, Tact, Homan Square units, have ramped up stops because they have something they can be threatened with - a voluntary spot from which they can be dumped. Same thing with all their white shirts, same with all the commanders and other exempt staff. If they want to put their careers at risk, their assets, their livelihoods and the comfort of their families, well, they're all over 21.

But remember what happened to other units that threw their lot in with the Department brass when the shit hit the fan - disbanded, sent back, not to the Districts they left, but to Districts, far from home. And then the Department closed bid spots for over a year, nearly two years if we recall, with something like under 50 spots total, and none in what we would label "desirable" assignments.

There is no more "gray area." Stopping known jagoffs just to let them know that you know they're in the area is a thing of the past. Every traffic and street stop we've been doing this year has been filmed, if not by our own cameras, then by someone walking by. Every homicide scene has five or ten cameras filming. Even domestics we get called to, some relative whips out a phone and starts recording.

It's enough to drive you mad.