Chicago is seeing a rise in the number of disciplinary charges sustained against cops — partly because more of those cases are being resolved through mediation, says the Chicago Sun-Times, quoting the agency that investigates police misconduct. The Independent Police Review Authority sustained charges against officers in 70 investigations last year. In the first three months of this year, the agency has sustained charges in 33 investigations.
Charges were sustained in 42 investigations in all of 2009 and 44 in 2010. Ilana Rosenzweig, chief administrator of the authority, said her investigators pushed to complete older cases that required a lot of work. The agency started resorting to mediation more often to resolve allegations of misconduct. “It's an opportunity for an officer to accept responsibility, to change behavior and in return, have a lower level of discipline,” Rosenzweig said. Mediation also benefits the officers because they do not have to go through a full-blown investigation and a lengthy grievance process, she said.