Empowering Communities for Public Safety

ECPS is bringing safety and accountability to all Chicago neighborhoods.

For too long, the Chicago Police Department has operated with little accountability or oversight from the communities it exists to serve. Our systems of public safety have been broken in part because the community has had no voice or power over policing.

The ECPS coalition is changing that. We are made up of hundreds of community, labor, and faith-based organizations working to hold police accountable and create safe neighborhoods across Chicago.

In July 2021, we led the campaign to pass our ECPS ordinance, which created:

  • The Community Commission for Public Safety & Accountability, the seven-member, city-wide body that shapes CPD policy, establishes public safety goals, and plays a central role in selecting police leadership.

  • District Councils in each of Chicago's 22 police districts, where three elected residents will work to ensure public safety at the local level.

Now we are continuing our work to fully implement this powerful new system and bring more and more Chicagoans into the work.

About Us

Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) is a coalition of community, labor, and faith-based organizations working to hold police accountable and create safe neighborhoods across Chicago. In 2021, the ECPS coalition led the passage of the strongest, most progressive system of community oversight in the United States. Learn more about our coalition.

Get Involved

Now that we passed the ordinance, our work continues! Throughout the next year, the ECPS coalition is mobilizing Chicago residents to get involved in this powerful new system for police accountability. We are also providing support to candidates running for District Councils in the 2023 municipal elections. Get involved in our work.