Deputy chief sets out to improve police training
CPD | Plans to draft a departmental statement of values

March 19, 2008
The Sun Times

BY ANNIE SWEENEY Crime Reporter

The head of the new Chicago Police professional standards office is scouring the department to find out how he can improve training and make cops better at their job -- a task he knows will take some time.

In the meantime, Pete Brust has put pen to paper to come up with a statement of values for the department -- the first it has ever had.

He knows they are just words. But he believes they will set a tone and can make a difference.

"E pluribus unum -- those are just words, right? It connotes this country is a great melting pot. It reminds people of what we're about,'' said Brust, the deputy superintendent for the Bureau of Professional Standards. "Words are very powerful.''

This is what Brust wants to remind Chicago Police they are about: Professionalism, Obligation, Leadership, Integrity, Courage and Excellence (acronym intended).

"These are the themes we are trying to instill in people so when they are doing their job, they will reflect back on these,'' Brust said. "It's simple core value statements that people who take this job seriously would reflect on.''

A written statement also accompanies the acronym. It talks of a department that is "part of'' and "empowered by'' the community; one committed to protect lives, maintain order and enforce law impartially. "To fulfill our mission,'' the statement reads, "We will strive to attain the highest degree of ethical behavior and professional conduct at all times.''

The department, over the past year or so, has suffered from a series of scandals that made headlines not only in Chicago, but around the country. Officers have been indicted for robbery and assault on citizens; others have been caught on tape in alleged bar brawls or beating people.

The Rev. Michael Pfleger, a South Side community leader, said the problems run deep and the department's words sound right. But action has to follow.

"I admire the goal. I just think we have to do a lot of work to get to the goal,'' said Pfleger, pastor of St. Sabina's Catholic Church. "I think there is a very small group of corrupt police, but there is a much larger group of disrespectful police. . . . There has been a great wedge put between police and citizens. And I am not saying there [are] not disrespectful citizens too. But police are called to be professional people. They have to hold the standard.''

The values statement will be posted around the department and will become a part of the training program for recruits.