History
The CHAPD was envisioned by Chicagoan Vince Lane, who had served as Chairman and Executive Director of the CHA from May 23, 1987 to May 26, 1995. During a television interview, Lane recalled how as a child he marveled at how well kept public housing was and remembered being envious of the conveniences residents enjoyed.
As Chairman, Lane took a personal stance in rectifying the safety and living conditions of the residents by ushering in the repair of dilapidated low and high-rise buildings, combined with improved protective services for the inhabitants. Ensuring that his plan came to fruition did not come without obstacles. Lane’s plan was in opposition to the Mayor’s Advisory Council’s report, which was printed by the Chicago Tribune in July 1988, and called for the razing of 8,000 units of family high-rise buildings over a ten-year period.
Complaints from the residents about the lack of police protection and presence of the Chicago Police Department, as well as the documented concerns of CPD officers who felt patrolling public housing was unsafe and dreaded answering calls for service there, went unanswered by the mayor, but were a major concern of Lane’s.
Vince Lane’s solution to combat the rampant gang-related drug sales and crime was to create his own police department to work within the system of the Chicago Police, but unhampered by the boundaries of CPD’s assigned districts. Since public housing was spread throughout various neighborhoods and local suburbs, the CHAPD was endowed with a broader jurisdiction.
Previously the federal government paid the City of Chicago 13 million dollars a year for extra patrols to provide adequate protection for the residents of the CHA. The city posted CPD units within the building at 365 W. Oak Street for Public Housing North and 4848 S. State Street for Public Housing South almost twenty years prior to the coming of housing’s own police. CHAPD’s first station was located at 4947 S. Federal Street in CPD’s 2nd District, which was also known as the "Deuce".
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On mobile patrol in the Robert Taylor Homes
Read more about this topic: Chicago Housing Authority Police Department
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