COPA is Chicago’s civilian police oversight agency founded on the values of Integrity, Transparency, Independence & Timeliness. COPA’s goal is to ensure investigations are completed that advance justice, fairness & foster open-dialogue for everyone.
On October 5, 2016, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance to establish the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), which will be the successor to the Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA).
The mission of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability is to provide a just and efficient means to fairly and timely conduct investigations within its jurisdiction, including investigations of alleged police misconduct and to determine whether those allegations are well-founded, applying a preponderance of the evidence standard; to identify and address patterns of police misconduct; and, based on information obtained through such investigations, to make policy recommendations to improve the Chicago Police Department and reduce incidents of police misconduct.
