The Chicago Police Department has many policy statements that police officers and their supervisors need to know. These policy statements are called General Orders (G. O.). These orders are numbered by the year they are established, and by how many were established in that year. So, for example, G. O. 86-08 means it was established in 1986 and that it was the 8th order established that year. G. O. 86-08 (a) initiates a "Protection of Life" policy relative to the use of deadly force by police officers, (b) sets forth Department policy regarding a police officer's use of deadly force, and (c) establishes guidelines controlling the use of deadly force by police officers.
When critiquing this general order to the eleven standards found in "Broken Windows and Police Discretion" you find that this policy does not meet all eleven standards. The first standard, which states that a policy should recognize the complexity of police work, is not met in the black and white pages of the City's general order on deadly force.
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English: A Chicago police officer on a segway.While in the police academy, when police officers are first introduced to general orders, senior police instructors teach the deadly force policy by reading the general orders to the new police officers. These instructors recognize the complexity of police work and tend to enhance the general orders by telling "war stories". These "war stories" can paint a picture that will make the general order come to life.
The second standard is to acknowledge that police will use discretion. Although this standard is not spelled out in the general order, it is implied. The general order states that police officers may (not must) resort to the lawful use of firearms under certain circumstances.
The third standard is to recognize and confirm how police work is conducted. This standard is...