Watch CBS News

Chicago Police Days Off Canceled, 12-Hour Shifts Required For Father's Day Weekend

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Extra police presence throughout the city this holiday weekend will come through 12-hour shifts and days off canceled.

Chicago police say the move is being done to ensure public and officer safety and the decision was not made lightly. Meantime, those living and working downtown had different opinions on the mandate.

"Safety and security is paramount for everyone's quality of life," said Stephen DiPadua with the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents. "We need the city to respond."

DiPadua is a top realtor downtown and has called Streeterville home for nearly a decade. He is also an active member of SOAR. He said he welcomes an increased police presence throughout the city and downtown this holiday weekend.

On June 9, Chicago Police Department members were told in a memo, "All sworn full duty personnel will work a 12 hour tour. Full duty SWORN personnel will have their regular days off (RDO) canceled" from June 18th to June 21st.

"With all of the carjackings, with all of the assaults, with all of the crimes, we need to focus on quality of life and safety for all," said DiPadua.

The order mandating the 12 hour shifts was written on May 28. On June 1, the superintendent had a news conference where he said officers can't sustain 12 hour days, and days off canceled and would ask for officers to volunteer to work on their days off. As Brown held this news conference, the plan for 12 hours days had already been written.

In an email sent to all CPD members, Brown also talked about the impact the 12 hour days have on officers and their families. He said supervisors will make sure those "who are scheduled to return to duty on Monday" have enough "time to rest and recover before the start of their regularly scheduled tour of duty."

"They should not work that many hours. They should take normal hours working," said Konstantinos Kriaras is the manager of Griddle 24 in River North.

Kriaras said with the pandemic orders lifting, business is increasing. He welcomes the extra police presence this weekend but also said officer safety should be at the forefront.

"They're doing a great job protecting the city right now. I think putting extra hours on them is too much."

Chicago police said the reason for the back and forth changes is that orders can be amended based on operational needs and the deployment order for Father's Day weekend was based on historical data.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.