The Chicago Police Department has adopted a uniform policy when it comes to transsexual and transgender prisoners and people in CPD custoy. Most of the work that was done between the CPD and The Civil Rights Agenda focused on procedures and identification.

According to Anthony Martinez, the executive director of TCRA, “We are very pleased to learn that the CPD has finally adopted this general order. The Civil Rights Agenda has been working with Lakeview Action Coalition on this effort since last year, and we are mostly pleased with the General Order as it stands, although we have a few concerns, mostly around arrest procedures and identification. We will be meeting with the Administration and CPD in the coming week and hope to gain further insight into what they see as their next steps in terms of training and implementation.”

TCRA policy advisor Rick Garcia stated “This is a great first step, but it is just the first step. There is now a lot of training that has to be done, and we want to ensure that implementation is carried out so that every officers is aware of these new policies. We have seen from other cities that have adopted these policies, like Washington D.C., that implementation and training are key to a successful outcome. The ordinance is still alive, so should there be a need to create oversight as it relates to implementation and training there is that mechanism available to us.”