Why this history continues to repeat itself is that community members lack the information they need to allow them to take the needed steps to stop it from repeating. While this is not a good use of police time, it pales in comparison to the current scandals that include the charges of assault, robbery, kidnapping and murder for hire, among other charges. Wilson was brought in as a response to the “ Summerdale” scandal during which time officers from the Chicago Police were involved in a burglary ring. The four changes that resulted with the creation of OPS were a response to less violent actions by police officers against citizens.
Wilson in 1960 and ending in 1974 with the creation of the Office of Professional Standards (OPS) under Superintendent James Rockford’s tenure, the office that handles citizen complaints against officers, was renamed and reorganized four times in fourteen years, (The Question of Police Discipline in Chicago: An analysis of the Proposed Office of Professional Standards, Report of the Chicago Law Enforcement Study Group, 1974, p.
Starting with Chicago Police Superintendent O.W. The Chicago Police Department has a long history of corruption scandals and an equally long history of promises from officials that this shall never happen again.
Corruption does not occur in a vacuum, absent a culture that either inhibits or nourishes the actions. With the break up of the Special Operations Section (SOS) of the Chicago Police Department it seems like a good time for us to take a step back and review a piece of history.