Public Safety

My thoughts from reading information relating to Cook County, IL, are related to wondering if the entire system will benefit from making some really simple changes. This idea is not new, so here it goes.

Police should never have direct contact with the prosecutor's office ex-parte. The police should be required to always create field notes and other documentation in real-time, to a neutral repository, to be acted upon simultaneously by prosecutors and public defenders.

Police and all officers of the court should loose immunity for any misrepresentation, exaggeration, or other abuse of power.

Police and other witnesses should never be coached, led, or directed by either party.

There should never be a culture for winning or losing, rather it should be a universal culture intended to find the best outcome. the best outcome should always be prevention first, then restorative justice.

It is ridiculous to think that Public Safety has become a jobs program. It is also ridiculous to think that Public Safety is making segments of society less safe.

Public Safety should not be a power trip for legislators, Judges, Prosecutors, or Jailers.

Public safety governance should be reserved exclusively to prevent violence to people and their property.

Public Safety should be promoted in the least expensive way.

It is ridiculous to think that throwing convicted individuals into prison where the jailers create an environment that reinforces hatred, is free of compassion or caring, and then releasing prisoners into society will keep us safe.

COOK COUNTY FISCAL YEAR 2022 • xiii ANNUAL APPROPRIATION BILL VOLUME 1

INTRODUCTION

PUBLIC SAFETY

Cook County provides services for the protection of persons and property through the provision of a court system, a jail system, a police force, prosecution, and public defense. The County operates the second largest unified court system in the United States (which hears civil, criminal, and administrative cases), the second largest prosecutor’s office in the nation (which is responsible for the prosecution of all misdemeanor and felony crimes committed in the County), and one of the largest criminal defense firms in the Country with over 500 attorneys charged with representing every type of criminal offense and child protection violation.

The preceding is written by Toni Preckwinkle, the county president.

I am curious why she tells us how many public defenders we have, but not how many prosecutors we have.

From the Chicago Reporter:

"Duties of the Cook County State’s Attorney

The Cook County State’s Attorney oversees one of the largest prosecutor offices in the nation, second only to Los Angeles County. It employs more than 1,500 personnel, including almost 900 attorneys, and has a broad scope of responsibility, including:"

To be continued...