Chicago Alliance for Neighborhood Safety records

Biography/Profile

Members from nine community organizations in Chicago created the Chicago Alliance for Neighborhood Safety (CANS) in 1981 to create safer neighborhoods through the application of volunteer-centered and community-based crime prevention techniques. It assisted in the formation of more than 1,500 block watches and school safety groups. At the same time, CANS initiated cooperation with the Chicago Police Department and other relevant municipal departments to reduce crime.

During the course of the 1980s, it became clear to CANS and the neighborhood people it worked with that the efforts of the community and the police had to be coordinated. "The intent, even then, was for neighbors to work together with government agencies, especially the police department, for safer neighborhoods."

In 1988, CANS published “Police Service in Chicago.” The report outlined the time officers spent answering calls instead of proactively solving problems with the communities they served. The report introduced the idea of community policing to the city and ultimately launched a campaign by CANS' Community Policing Task Force (CPTF) to bring community policing to Chicago. The city rejected a proposal to test community policing until CANS ran a citywide campaign.

Mayor Richard M. Daley announced that Chicago's 13,500 member police force would embrace a new system of community policing that would coordinate police, community, and city departments. In 1993, the CPD started the Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy (CAPS) in five police districts. All 25 districts adopted the new policing strategy the following year. From late 1994 to December 1996, CANS was awarded a contract with the city to do the first large-scale problem-solving training of community residents in the country. CANS trained local residents in dealing with crime in conjunction with police and city departments in all 279 of Chicago's police beats. More than 12,000 individual residents were introduced to CAPS through training and events conducted by the Joint Community Police Training Project (JCPT). In addition, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce recognized CANS for its community service. CANS continues to provide education, training, and technical assistance to community groups across the city and country while advocating for policy to make the community a full partner in community policing programs.