The City of Chicago Office of Inspector General (OIG) has published the final report in a series from its inquiry into the Chicago Police Department’s (CPD) service of residential search warrants. OIG found that, to date, CPD’s maintenance of search warrant files has been incomplete, paper-based, and decentralized, with records housed by individual units and, at times, individual members. CPD was not able to effectively track so-called “wrong raids.” Further, OIG found that unsuccessful residential search warrants were marked by inconsistent and insufficient pre-service investigations. To reach these conclusions, OIG analyzed CPD’s processes — including the development, approval, and service of search warrants, files, and policy revisions made between 2017 and 2021 to assess whether the Department has:

• evaluated search warrants that resulted in wrong raids

• developed pre-service investigative processes to ensure that the warrant is being served to the correct individual at the correct location, and,

• addressed risks associated with wrong raids.

CPD’s plans for a new search warrants policy, forms, and data system may improve its tracking of wrong raids, guidance for pre-service investigations, and completeness of record keeping. OIG published two interim reports in advance of this final report: first, in January 2021, recommending urgent changes to the Department’s search warrants policy; and second, in May 2021, analyzing data on CPD’s residential search warrants.