Police Complaints Down Under Weis

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 9, 2011 3:25PM

Police complaints filed during Jody Wes' tenure as Police Superintendent are down over the three years before his appointment, according to an article in today's Sun-Times. But there seems to be a debate over whether the decline in complaints is due to police acting more professionally under Weis, or if they aren't doing their jobs on the streets as aggressively in a passive protest to a police chief they feel doesn't have their backs.

For what it's worth, Police Department spokeswoman Lt. Maureen Biggane says the numbers show that Weis has made a difference, chalking the decrease to a new police evaluation system implemented in 2009 and better training.

“First and foremost, this is positive. The superintendent has pushed for a more professional police department, and one could make the argument his message is being well received.”

Weis has also taken the step of delegating which complaints go to the Police Board to the Deputy Superintendent of the Bureau of Professional Standards, Pete Brust/ Brust recommends to Weis which complaints go to the Board.

But some Police Department observers wonder if, besides the possibility that cops are less aggressive in their jobs, Weis may not be sending as many cases as he could to the Police Board in an attempt to show the rank-and-file that he has their backs.