CPD CPD Strategic Planning 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of CPD's 'after-action review' process in the context of strategic planning?
- To discipline officers involved in major incidents
- To capture lessons learned from significant events and feed improvements back into strategy (Correct answer)
- To generate media reports about departmental performance
- To review promotions after each fiscal year
Correct answer: To capture lessons learned from significant events and feed improvements back into strategy
After-action reviews capture lessons learned from significant events — both successes and failures — and systematically feed those insights back into strategic and operational planning.
Question 2: In CPD's strategic planning cycle, when is the annual plan typically reviewed and updated?
- Only at the start of a new superintendent's tenure
- At the end of each fiscal year to assess progress and adjust for the next cycle (Correct answer)
- Every five years regardless of performance results
- Only when ordered by the Chicago City Council
Correct answer: At the end of each fiscal year to assess progress and adjust for the next cycle
CPD reviews and updates its strategic plan annually at the end of each fiscal year, assessing progress on KPIs and adjusting priorities, resources, and tactics for the upcoming year.
Question 3: Which CPD bureau is primarily responsible for overseeing implementation of department-wide strategic initiatives?
- Bureau of Detectives
- Bureau of Patrol
- Bureau of Organizational Development (Correct answer)
- Bureau of Emergency Communications
Correct answer: Bureau of Organizational Development
The Bureau of Organizational Development oversees CPD's training, professional standards, strategic planning, and organizational improvement initiatives at the department level.
Question 4: What strategic planning concept does CPD use to ensure that district-level plans align with overall department goals?
- Vertical integration of planning — cascading goals from department to district to beat level (Correct answer)
- Complete autonomy for each district to set independent goals
- Centralized planning with no district-level input
- Lateral peer review between unrelated districts only
Correct answer: Vertical integration of planning — cascading goals from department to district to beat level
CPD uses vertical integration, cascading strategic goals from the department level down to district and beat plans, ensuring all levels of the organization work toward unified objectives.
Question 5: When CPD uses 'hot spots policing' as a strategic tactic, what does the evidence suggest about its effectiveness?
- It simply displaces crime to adjacent areas with no net reduction
- It can significantly reduce crime in targeted areas, with minimal displacement to surrounding locations (Correct answer)
- It increases crime rates by concentrating officer presence
- It is only effective in suburban jurisdictions, not urban environments like Chicago
Correct answer: It can significantly reduce crime in targeted areas, with minimal displacement to surrounding locations
Research consistently shows that hot spots policing reduces crime in targeted areas, and displacement to surrounding areas is typically minimal compared to the crime reduction achieved.
Question 6: How does CPD's strategic plan incorporate the concept of 'procedural justice' in community relations?
- By requiring officers to issue written warnings before any arrest
- By training officers to treat individuals with dignity, explain decisions, and allow citizen voice during encounters (Correct answer)
- By eliminating discretionary enforcement entirely
- By requiring all stops to be videotaped and posted publicly within 24 hours
Correct answer: By training officers to treat individuals with dignity, explain decisions, and allow citizen voice during encounters
Procedural justice training teaches officers to treat people with dignity, be transparent about their actions, give citizens a chance to be heard, and act impartially — building legitimacy regardless of enforcement outcomes.
Question 7: What is CPD's rationale for including 'interagency collaboration' as a strategic priority?
- To reduce CPD's budget by offloading responsibilities to other agencies
- To leverage the specialized capabilities of federal, state, and local partners to address crime more effectively than CPD could alone (Correct answer)
- To comply with a state mandate requiring joint task forces for all investigations
- To eliminate duplicate patrol coverage across jurisdictional boundaries
Correct answer: To leverage the specialized capabilities of federal, state, and local partners to address crime more effectively than CPD could alone
Interagency collaboration is a strategic priority because partners like the FBI, DEA, ATF, and Cook County agencies bring specialized resources, intelligence, and jurisdiction that amplify CPD's effectiveness against complex crime problems.
CPD CPD Strategic Planning 5
What is the primary purpose of CPD's 'after-action review' process in the context of strategic planning?