Homeless Youth Task Force

LAC has been working with homeless, LGBT and at risk youth, and their allies, on issues of police harassment.  In the past, we have worked to ensure that the police treat youth fairly, and that instances of abuse are handled swiftly.  We have developed a strong relationship with the Independent Police Review Authority, although we have been frustrated by their response, and we have trained on homeless and LGBT youth issues at the Police Academy. 

We recently started working on the treatment of transgender individuals by the police. 

Being located in Boystown, LAC member institutions include many transgender people and allies.  Transgender individuals working with LAC are often homeless or tenuously housed, and very vulnerable to harassment and abuse.  The issue of police abuse was brought to LAC by a transgender female who had experienced homelessness and has strong ties to the community. 

Persistently, transgender people are subject to unimaginable abuse.  According to the Gay and Lesbian Straight Education Network, as many as 55% of transgender youth report being physically attacked; another study conducted by the Gender Public Advocacy Coalition on transgender people concluded that as many as 48% of transgender people are victims of physical or sexual assault.    

To provide further context, transgender people are eight-times more likely to be denied employment nationally.  Even in places like Illinois where legal protections for transgender people are strong, discrimination against transgender people has become a distressingly common occurrence.  All too often, transgender people must endure the bias of others who simply do not understand the challenges inherent in being transgender.

Unfortunately, the attitudes of society at large are at times projected by members of the Chicago Police Department onto transgender people with whom they interact.  Numerous transgender people have described their experiences to LAC and its member institutions over several years, experiences that indicate extensive harassment and mistreatment of transgender people by police officers, both in and out of police custody. 

LAC has researched the policies of other city police departments that have either already enacted or are in the process of developing guidelines detailing how officers should interact with transgender people.  Washington, D.C. took an early lead in the development of a policy, but the Washington, D.C. Police Department is hardly alone: King County (Seattle) now has a policy in place and New York and Los Angeles both have just adopted policies.

LAC members and allies spent the summer and fall of 2010 drafting a policy based on the best practices of other entities, with the goal of simplifying the job of the police officer.  It is our belief that many officers simply may not know how to interact with transgender people, even after receiving current training resources.  The policy we drafted aims both to ensure that transgender people are treated with dignity while being detained, and to assist and protect officers in their efforts to maintain public safety. 

After several personnel shifts (including a new Mayor) and years of negotiations with the CPD and the Mayor’s office, the CPD adopted a policy in August of 2012 on the treatment of transgender, gender non conforming and intersex individuals.  The policy can be found at: http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/ and is general order G02-01-03.

Adoption of this general order is a big first step.  The order is not perfect, and we continue to monitor compliance and effectiveness.

If you are interested in getting involved, contact Jennifer at (773) 549-1947 x364 or jenrg@lakeviewaction.org.

Last updated 11/1/12.