Safety
Our office works directly with our many public safety institutions, including the Chicago Police Department, Chicago Fire Department, Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), Chicago Commission on Human Relations, and various community organizations that contract with the City for violence prevention-related work.
Some of our public safety institutions are not housed directly under the City’s purview, like the State’s Attorney’s Office, Sheriff's Office, or Chief Judge’s Office. While we do not directly oversee these organizations, we can make connections to the appropriate personnel as needed.
Some constituent requests that we receive include updates on violent crimes, concerns about non-violent safety incidents (including those with a mental-health component), noise complaints, and requests for aid in disputes between neighbors.
Click on the type of request that most matches your request:
Public Safety Updates
Community violence is a top priority that we must address urgently to save lives. Compared to other parts of Chicago, our Ward experiences relatively low rates of violent crime, but any incident is one too many. The ability of the government not only to investigate prior crimes in our Ward but also to help prevent new crimes from occurring requires a citywide approach to addressing violence.
When a violent crime occurs in our neighborhood, neighbors sometimes contact our office to receive updates about the incident and to learn how we can work together to help prevent future incidents. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) has the most up-to-date, accurate information about ongoing investigations, and encourages neighbors to reach out directly to the CAPS office for that information.
Our office communicates regularly with our local police districts and is happy to provide the updates we receive, as well as discuss public safety policy more broadly. Most of the 47th Ward is located in the 19th Police District, but the parts north of Lawrence Ave are located in the 20th Police District.
Steps
[IN CASE OF EMERGENCY] If you or someone else’s safety is immediately at risk, please call 9-1-1.
[FOR UPDATES ON SPECIFIC SAFETY RELATED INCIDENT] If you have a question or would like to share information about a specific safety related incident, please contact the 19th District CAPS at 312-744-8320, the 20th District CAPS at 312-742-8714, or Area 3 Detectives at 312-744-8261.
[GET INVOLVED] If you are interested in getting involved to help make our community and city safer, you may be interested in learning more about local organizations that do violence prevention work on the northside like Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) or ONE Northside. Lincoln Square Moms Demand Action is another locally-led advocacy group that is focused on common-sense gun regulation. In addition, consider attending a CAPS meeting for your beat; attending a Police District Council meeting; or participating in the Court Advocate Program.
Additional resources
Mental Health-Related Public Safety Incidents
The City continues to work to improve its response to non-violent mental health related incidents. The 19th Police District, which covers all of the 47th Ward south of Lawrence, is currently participating in a co-responder pilot in which police officers and mental health professionals jointly respond to certain non-violent emergency calls. 9-1-1 dispatchers are trained to direct calls to this team as appropriate. The team may not always be available when you call.
Separately, the City is providing limited funding to a number of community-based organizations to respond to mental health crises without police officers. You can call 9-8-8 to request a response from a mobile crisis team. Alternatively, you can contact a provider directly. Lutheran Social Services, C4, and Thresholds serve the 47th Ward with mobile crisis teams. Many of these teams operate 24/7.
If there is a medical crisis (i.e. serious injury) or weapon, please call 9-1-1.
Steps
[IN CASE OF EMERGENCY] If you or someone else’s safety is immediately at risk, please call 9-1-1.
[IF REQUESTING POLICE AND MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE] Call 9-1-1 and indicate that the incident is non-violent and mental health-related. The 9-1-1 dispatcher is trained to direct calls to the mental health co-responder team as appropriate. The team may not always be available when you call.
[IF REQUESTING MENTAL HEALTH WORKERS ONLY] If you have a public safety-related concern about a non-violent mental health crisis, you can call 9-8-8. Please note that you currently must call from a 312 or 773 area code to receive the Chicago call center. Alternatively, call Lutheran Social Services (833-610-5774) or Thresholds Mobile Crisis (773-572-5464) teams directly.
Additional resources
Complaint Against Police Officer
The Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) is an independent body tasked with investigating certain complaints against police officers. Neighbors can file complaints about alleged police misconduct with COPA, which will investigate or refer the complaint to the appropriate organization. Currently, investigations can sometimes take over a year to be completed.
Please feel free to contact our office if you would like to discuss COPA’s investigatory process.
Steps
[IF COMPLAINT AGAINST POLICE OFFICER] If you are looking to file a complaint against a police officer for misconduct, please contact the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA) at 312-743-2672.
Additional resources
Domestic Violence Concern
Addressing domestic violence is a top priority in Chicago’s violence prevention plan, due in part to its close connection to gun violence. The Chicago Department of Family & Support Services (DFSS) provides funding for organizations focused on gender-based violence.
From time to time, our office receives requests from individuals experiencing domestic violence who are seeking resources to help secure their safety. These requests may relate to resources like housing, legal services, safety planning, and mental health resources.
Steps
[IN CASE OF EMERGENCY] If you or someone else’s safety is immediately at risk, please call 9-1-1.
[FOR SAFETY PLANNING AND/OR SERVICES ] If you are concerned that you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence, please call or text the domestic violence hotline at 800-799-7233. If you are experiencing difficulty accessing needed services, please feel free to contact our office at info@aldermanmartin.com or 773-868-4747.
Additional resources
CAASE - Sexual Violence Advocacy
Ascend Justice - Legal Assistance
Sarah’s Circle - Housing
Hate Crime or Non-Violent Neighbor Dispute
The Chicago Commission on Human Relations provides mediation services to help resolve neighbor disputes. Additionally, they help support victims of hate crimes.
In some cases, our office has received complaints about alleged hate crimes, and the complainant does not want to refer their complaint to the police. Please note that the Commission on Human Relations works closely with CPD during investigations. There is not currently a city institution that is empowered to officially investigate hate crimes without the involvement of police.
Steps
[IN CASE OF EMERGENCY] If you or someone else’s safety is immediately at risk, please call 9-1-1.
[NON-VIOLENT NEIGHBOR DISPUTE OR HATE CRIME] If you are looking to report a non-violent neighbor dispute or hate crime, please contact the Commission on Human Relations at 312-744-4111.
Additional resources
Have a suggestion about how to improve city services?
We always welcome suggestions on how to improve city services, so we can pass the feedback along to the Department and the Mayor’s office. Please send feedback and suggestions to info@aldermanmartin.com. It’s important to know that our city budget plays a significant role in determining the quality and timeliness of service that departments can provide. You can sign up for updates about the budget process and our town halls here.