The community, cops, CAPS and the OPS

The community, cops, CAPS and the OPS

Before CAPS (the Community Alternative Policing Strategy), there was far less positive connection between the Chicago Police Department and much of the community, especially the Black community.

How things have changed. Since the advent of CAPS nine years ago, the two-way communication between police and residents has vastly improved -- and, according to the latest statistics from the CPD, so has the probability that citizens can walk the streets of their communities in safety.

Crime in 20 of the City's 25 police districts declined by a rate of 4.9 percent last year from the previous year, a factor attributed to CAPS by Police …