Chicago Police Look at Revamping CAPS Program
Officials plan to restructure the long-standing Community Alternative Policing Strategy program.
"There needs to be a real focus in CAPS," she said. "I envision them setting goals and strategies and checking in with the neighborhood to tell us how they're progressing. The younger people, many of them feel it's older people and the police against us. We have to bridge that gap."
But more than anything, Leonard said, residents need to see how CAPS can reduce the number of crimes in their neighborhoods before they'll respect the program.
"It's easy for me to say, I admit, because I'm not in the trenches" like police are, she said. But "I know what it's like to live in a high-crime area and have your house broken into."
