TRACKED
AND
TARGETED
EARLY FINDINGS ON
CHICAGO’S GANG DATABASE 

Photo: Monica Trinidad, For the People Artists Collective

FEBRUARY 2018

A PRELIMINARY REPORT PREPARED BY THE POLICING IN CHICAGO RESEARCH GROUP 

 TRACKED AND TARGETED

ABOUT THE POLICING IN
CHICAGO RESEARCH GROUP
Chicago is at the forefront of struggles against
racialized policing. Building on long histories of
struggle, people of color in Chicago are forging
powerful solidarities as they confront the
criminalization and death of Black youth,
immigration enforcement and deportations, and
the surveillance and harassment of Arab/Muslim
communities. Yet most studies of policing analyze
these communities in isolation. Beginning in the
Spring of 2017, a research workshop at UIC sought
to shift the focus by analyzing the growing web of
connections between local police departments,
federal immigration authorities, and national/
homeland security agencies. The Policing in
Chicago Research Group is a collaborative effort
of faculty and students at UIC in conversation with
social movement organizations to offer research
support in service to grassroots campaigns
addressing police violence and complex webs of
policing in Chicago. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This report was compiled and edited by Janaé Bonsu
and Andy Clarno and made possible by the research
contributions of graduate students at the University
of Illinois at Chicago. The findings presented in this
report is reflective of insights from interviews with
people directly impacted by policing in Chicago,
movement lawyers, researchers and activists and
organizers within End the Chicago Gang Database
group of the larger Expanded Sanctuary campaign
anchored by BYP100, Mijente, and Organized
Communities Against Deportations. 

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1

2

3

4

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS CHICAGO’S GANG DATABASE?

The Citizen and Law Enforcement Analysis and Reporting (CLEAR) System

HOW IS GANG AFFILIATION DETERMINED?

HOW IS GANG AFFILIATION DOCUMENTED
AND RECORDED?
Gang Arrest Cards
Investigatory Stop Reports

WHAT IS CPD’S STRATEGY FOR POLICING GANGS?

5

Predictive Policing and Surveillance
The Strategic Subject List (SSL) 
Gang Audit 
Strategic Decision Support Centers (SDSC)

HOW IS DATA SHARED BETWEEN
8 LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES?
Fusion Centers

Federal Databases
CLEAR Sharing Project

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES
9 WITH THE GANG DATABASE?
Data-driven criminalization
Inaccurate identification of gang members
Lack of notification and opportunity for self defense
No known process to purge data

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF
10 BEING LABELED AS GANG AFFILIATED?
Harassment
Targeted Immigration Enforcement
Impact on bail/bond and Sentencing Decisions
Barriers to employment & housing 

11

HOW CAN ISSUES WITH GANG
DATABASES BE ADDRESSED?

 INTRODUCTION
Amid anti-immigrant and “tough on crime”
rhetoric from the Trump administration and
threats to cut federal funding to sanctuary
cities, a group of immigrant and Black-led
organizations came together to push for
policies in Chicago that expand the vision of
what a sanctuary city can be for all its
residents. Under the frame of “Expanded
Sanctuary,” the campaign posits that for
Chicago to call itself a sanctuary city, it
needs to strengthen its protections for
immigrants and refugees and reduce police
violence and criminalization of communities
of color.
One of the issues that galvanized the
Expanded Sanctuary campaign is the fact
that Chicago's "Welcoming City Ordinance"
explicitly states that sanctuary status does
not apply to anyone listed in a law
enforcement agency's gang database.  
As the Expanded Sanctuary campaign seeks
to raise awareness about the gang database,
mobilize communities that are impacted by
its use, and advocate for alternative policies
that eliminate the harmful effects of the gang
database, the Policing in Chicago Research
Group took on the task of answering
questions about the criteria used to
determine gang affiliation, the accuracy and
constitutionality of the database, and the
ways that the database is used and shared. 
Organized Communities Against Deportations
(OCAD), Mijente, and Black Youth Project 100
(BYP100) raised four initial demands in the
launch of the Expanded Sanctuary campaign: 

1

•
•
•
•

Protect all Chicagoans from immigration
enforcement by eliminating all exceptions
or “carve-outs” from the Welcoming City
Ordinance (Chicago’s sanctuary policy)
Eliminate the gang database by Chicago
Police and law enforcement officials,
including in schools and other public
institutions  
Institute policies that decriminalize and
reduce arrests 
Decrease policing funding and invest in
communities 

Through a combination of in-depth interviews,
FOIA requests, and archival research, the
Policing in Chicago Research Group sought to:  
about the impacts of the gang
• Learn
database, including directly from people
who have been accused of gang
affiliation, arrested, deported (or
threatened with deportation), and/or
otherwise subjected to harassment or
enhanced prosecution; and  

•

Understand the relationships between all
law enforcement agencies involved in
tracking gang affiliation, including the
Chicago Police Department (CPD), the
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE), Illinois State Police (ISP), Cook
County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), and other
municipal police departments.  

This preliminary report summarizes what the
Policing in Chicago Research Group has been
able to discover, as well as what we have yet
to learn, about Chicago’s gang database. 

 WHAT IS CHICAGO’S
GANG DATABASE?
Chicago is reported to have the highest gang
population in the country, and the violent
crime for which Chicago has become infamous
is largely attributed to gangs. In this context,
law enforcement agencies across the country
determine criteria as well as create, maintain,
and share gang databases to identify suspects
and investigate crimes. A “gang database” is
an information system that includes
individuals who are suspected or confirmed
members of street gangs. Gang databases are
but one of the techniques that have emerged
in the last 25 years to control gangs. i
The Chicago Police Department defines street
gangs as “a group of individuals who may or
may not claim control over a certain territory
in the community and engage, either
individually or collectively, in violent or other
forms of illegal behavior. However, one of the
simplest and most functional definitions is that
a gang is a group of people who form an
allegiance for a common purpose and engage
in violent, unlawful, or criminal activity.” ii
According to The Gang Book, a guide on
gangs that is distributed to every law
enforcement agency in the city and state as
well as schools, a street gang is an
organization that includes the following
characteristics: (1) a gang name and
recognizable symbols, (2) a definable
hierarchy, (3) a geographic territory, (4) a
regular meeting pattern, (5) a code of conduct,
iii
and (6) an organized
continuous course of
criminal activity. 

2

THE CITIZEN AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
ANALYSIS AND REPORTING (CLEAR)
SYSTEM
CPD stores information on gangs and gang
affiliation in the Citizen and Law
Enforcement Analysis and Reporting
iv
(CLEAR) system.
Since 2001, the CLEAR system has operated
as a huge warehouse of information on
“criminal offenders” and people suspected
of criminal activity in Chicago and Cook
County. CLEAR contains millions of arrest
records, incident reports, 911 logs, witness
statements, and other information and can
be queried from any of the thousands of
handheld devices and touchscreen
notebooks in CPD vehicles.
 According to documents obtained through
a Freedom of Information Act request, the
gang database in CLEAR includes more
than 128,000 individuals, 90,208 of whom
are Black, 31,873 are Hispanic and less than
6,000 are White.v These numbers mean that
approximately 11% of Chicago’s total Black
population, 4% of the Hispanic population,
and just 0.6% of the white population is in
the gang database. vi

 HOW IS GANG AFFILIATION
DETERMINED?
The criteria used to determine gang affiliation is almost entirely unrelated to criminal conduct
or active participation in gang activities. Rather, CPD and other law enforcement agencies
determine gang affiliation by what a person wears, who a person is seen with, tattoos,
symbols, and even hairstyles. CPD directives specify the following criteria to determine
vii
membership in a street gang:  

SELF-ADMISSION 

WEARING DISTINCTIVE EMBLEMS, TATTOOS, OR SIMILAR MARKINGS
INDICATIVE OF A SPECIFIC STREET GANG 

THE USE OF SIGNALS OR SYMBOLS DISTINCTIVE OF A SPECIFIC
CRIMINAL STREET GANG 

AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS “PROVIDED RELIABLE INFORMATION TO
CPD IN THE PAST AND WHOSE INFORMATION CAN BE
INDEPENDENTLY CORROBORATED” 

ANOTHER CPD OFFICER WHO “HAS SPECIALIZED KNOWLEDGE AND
EXPERTISE CONCERNING THE SUBJECT CRIMINAL ORGANIZATION” 

IDENTIFICATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL AS A GANG MEMBER THROUGH
ANY DATABASE OR INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE CLEAR SYSTEM 

In addition to the above criteria, social media (such as posts to Facebook and
YouTube) has become a significant investigative tool used by law enforcement to
viii
identify gang affiliation and gather intelligence on alleged gang activity. Online
activity can be used as evidence against an individual in gang-related incidents.  

3

 HOW IS GANG AFFILIATION
DOCUMENTED & RECORDED?
According to CPD directives, people are
recorded as gang affiliated through each
district’s yearly gang audit, through
“intelligence” gathered during stops (often in
form of gang arrest cards or investigatory stop
reports), during booking at the Cook County
Jail, or during other police interactions with
individuals. Information regarding an
individual’s gang status can also be compiled
and formatted for specific use, such as “gang
profiles” assembled by the Crime Prevention
and Information Center (CPIC) after a shooting. 

GANG ARREST CARDS
When an officer arrests someone whose
membership in a street gang is “substantiated
or self-admitted,” arresting or assisting officers
as well as lockup personnel can create an
automated Gang Arrest Card using the CLEAR
Gang Automated Arrest Card application. 

GANG ARREST CARDS
INVESTIGATORY
STOP REPORTS 
An investigatory stop is a non-voluntary
encounter between an officer and a person
who the officer deems suspicious of previous,
current, or future criminal activity. During an
Investigatory Stop, a person may be asked to
identify themselves and asked about why they
are in a particular location and/or what they
are doing. Although an individual is not free to
leave during this encounter, they cannot be
arrested for refusing to answer questions.
However, people who participated in interviews
explained that the police often try to escalate
the stop in order to justify an arrest, such as by
planting evidence on people or in vehicles.

4

All officers who conduct an investigatory
stop are required to complete an
Investigatory Stop Report (ISR). Officers
enforcing the Gang and Narcotics-Related
Loitering Ordinances are required to identify
the person’s gang/faction, known hangouts, and types of “gang criminal activities”
on the ISR. Investigatory stop reports are
subsequently uploaded into the CLEAR
database and can be cross checked with
other information on the database, including
information gathered from the Strategic
Subjects List (SSL). As demonstrated by the
use of ISRs, the CLEAR database includes
vast amounts of information on people who
have not been convicted, charged or even
arrested for a crime.  

 WHAT IS CPD’S STRATEGY
FOR POLICING GANGS?
The Gang Violence Reduction Strategy
(GVRS) is CPD’s overall strategy for policing
gang activity. It is comprised of multiple
strategies used by CPD, including information
gathering, analysis, data sharing, linking of
gangs to their factions, social network
mapping focused on targeted people who
they believe are gang members as well as
their friends and family.  

PREDICTIVE
POLICING
GANG ARREST
CARDS AND
SURVEILLANCE 
Predictive policing refers to efforts to prevent
crime by predicting the location, timing, and
individuals involved. The CPD uses
mathematical algorithms and advanced data
analysis software to target geographic
"hotspots" and to identify individuals that they
expect will be involved in violent crime.
The CPD currently uses several software
packages for predictive policing. Those
specifically used in tracking and/or targeting
gangs include the Strategic Subjects List,
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) such as
Caboodle and ShotSpotter, video surveillance
through Police Observation Devices, and
phone surveillance through Stingrays. 

THE STRATEGIC SUBJECT LIST (SSL)
The SSL is a tool used by the CPD for predictive
policing. It is based on an algorithm used to
predict the likelihood of a person either
committing or becoming the victim of violent
crime. Each person receives a score of 1 to 500
based on individual arrest and victimization
records as well as networks of known and
suspected associates, with higher scores
supposedly indicating a greater likelihood of
involvement in gun violence. 

5

The SSL includes a column indicating whether
an individual is “gang affiliated.” Of the nearly
400,000 people are on the SSL:

• 52% are Black and 25% are Latinx 
• 45% are under 30 years old 
• 76% are male  
ix

Nearly 65,000 people
in the SSL are labeled
as gang affiliated.
GENDER & RACE/ETHNICITY OF “GANG
AFFILIATED” PEOPLE IN THE SSL
According to the SSL: 

of people listed as “gang
• 74.5%
affiliated” are Black, 21.4% are Latinx 

• 60.7% are less than 30 years old   
• 96.9% are male

 WHAT IS CPD’S STRATEGY FOR POLICING GANGS? CONTINUED
The SSL includes data on individuals’ record
of arrest for unlawful use of a weapon (from
2006-2016), narcotics (from 2006- 2016), and
violent offenses (from 2012-2016). Of the
people labeled “gang affiliated” in the SSL: 

have never been arrested for a
• 67.5%
violent offense or unlawful use of a
weapon 
have never been arrested for a
• 20.9%
violent offense, unlawful use of a
weapon, or narcotics 
While gangs are often blamed for gun
violence in Chicago, 67.5% of the people
identified as “gang affiliated” on the SSL had
no documented arrests for violent offenses or
unlawful use of a weapon. This raises
important questions about how more than
43,000 people ended up on the CPD gang
database. In fact, the CPD recently
acknowledged that gang membership cannot
predict participation in gun violence and
therefore dropped gang affiliation from the
current version of the SSL algorithm. In
addition, 20.9% of alleged gang members
have never been arrested for violent
offenses, unlawful use of a weapon, or
narcotics. That means more than 13,500
people on the CPD gang database have never
been arrested for the three principal activities
that the CPD considers gang related. 

There are way too
many false positives. It’s
always been the case
that models over-predict.
John Hagedorn, Professor of Criminology, Law & Justice

6

WHAT IS THE SSL USED FOR? 
In addition to being used as an investigative
resource, the SSL is used as a tool for
targeted “intervention” and enhanced
prosecution tactics, namely to determine
eligibility for the Custom Notifications and the
Targeted Repeat-Offender Apprehension and
Prosecution (TRAP) programs.  

CUSTOM NOTIFICATION PROGRAM 
People identified in the SSL as having a high
propensity for violence receive a “custom
notification” informing them that resources
are available if they choose to stop
participating in violent activity but also
outlining the consequences if they continue
violent activity. The notification includes a
description of potential enhanced federal and
state sentencing options, as well as the
potential for seized assets. Individuals in the
Custom Notification Program are subject to
the highest possible charges for any
x
subsequent arrest. 

PROSECUTORIAL PROGRAMS 
As part of the Gang Violence Reduction
Strategy, CPD collaborates with the Cook
County State’s Attorney’s Office (CCSAO) to
implement programs to prosecute “violent
gang members.” Two such programs are the
Targeted Repeat-Offender Apprehension and
Prosecution (TRAP) program and the Gang
Intervention Probation Program (GIPP). 
 
TRAP is a collaboration between the CPD and
the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office with
the primary goal of enhanced prosecution of
individuals identified as violent through
predictive policing technology. Individuals are
identified for TRAP because of their criminal
history, alleged propensity for violence, and
involvement in narcotics distribution. 

 WHAT IS CPD’S STRATEGY FOR POLICING GANGS? CONTINUED
The CPD and CSAO collaborate with the Cook
County Adult Probation Department’s Gang
Intervention Unit to implement GIPP. The
primary goal of GIPP is to “deter individuals
placed in the program from additional criminal
gang activity by enforcing the conditions of
xi
their probation.” Probation conditions include
mandatory curfew hours, a residency
requirement, a prohibition against associating
with “known” gang members and engaging in
gang activity, though gang activity is not
defined in Chicago Police directives.  

GANG AUDIT 
The Gang Audit is designed to gather
information from each district including gang
name, gang faction name, territorial borders,
faction size, alliances, conflicts, organizational
level, and alleged violence. The Crime
Prevention and Information Center (CPIC)
manages the information, includes the
information in the CLEAR system, and
periodically updates the gang audit to include
new information they have collected from ISRs
and other surveillance technologies.  

7

STRATEGIC DECISION SUPPORT CENTERS
(SDSC) 
SDSCs are hyper-local intelligence centers
that support the predictive deployment of
officers. Using integrated, geographicspecific, real-time analytics such as crime
data, video surveillance, and gunshot
detection, SDSCs allow district commanders
to activate a district-specific, predictive
policing strategy.
SDSCs are currently located in the Englewood
(007), Harrison (011), Austin (015), Deering
(009), Ogden (010), and Auburn Gresham and
Chatham (006) CPD districts. Additional SDSCs
in Wentworth, Grand Crossing, Calumet,
Chicago Lawn, and Grand Central are
scheduled to open in 2018. Each SDSC costs
$1.5 million to operate per year and is be paid
for by public and corporate funds. 

 HOW IS DATA SHARED BETWEEN
LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES?
The CPD shares and receives gang-related
information with other county, state, and
federal law enforcement agencies. There
are at least three mechanisms for this data
sharing.

GANG ARREST
FUSION
CENTERS
CARDS
After September 11, 2001, the US federal
government established a network of “fusion
centers” throughout the country to promote
data sharing (aka data fusion) between local,
state, and federal law enforcement agencies.
Chicago’s fusion center is called the Crime
Prevention and Information Center (CPIC).
Initially charged with investigating and
analyzing suspected terrorist activity, CPIC
and other fusion centers quickly expanded
their missions to include terrorism and
“violent crime.” CPIC has become the CPDs
overall intelligence center.
Located in CPD headquarters, CPIC manages
the CPD’s surveillance equipment, maintains
the CLEAR database, and prepares “gang
profiles” for officers investigating shooting
incidents. Yet one of the core missions of
CPIC is to facilitate data sharing with state
and federal law enforcement agencies. The
Federal Bureau of Investigations, the
Department of Homeland Security, the Illinois
State Police, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office,
the Transportation Safety Administration,
various suburban police departments, and
other law enforcement agencies assign
officers to help staff CPIC. These agencies
have direct access to the CPD data including the gang database. 

8

GANG ARREST
FEDERAL
DATABASES
CARDS
The CPD also shares its gang database and
other information in CLEAR with the FBI,
through platforms such as the National Data
Exchange Program (N-DEx). The FBI
National Gang Information Center
incorporates information from the CPD and
other local police departments into an FBI
gang database, which becomes part of the
National Crime Information Center (NCIC).
The NCIC is one of the most important
database accessed by local police
departments across the country.  

GANG ARREST
CLEAR
SHARING
CARDS
PROJECT 
The CPD encourages other law enforcement
agencies to apply for direct access to the
CLEAR database. As a result, information
contained in the CPD gang database is
directly accessible to hundreds of
thousands of police officers throughout
Illinois and neighboring states.  

 WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ISSUES
WITH THE GANG DATABASE?
GANG ARREST CRIMINALIZATION 
DATA-DRIVEN
CARDS
In building a gang database, the government is
collecting extensive information on thousands of
individuals without any underlying criminal
predicate. Gang membership itself is not illegal
and thus does not qualify as an underlying criminal
predicate, nor does it justify maintenance of
intelligence information. It is the database itself
that identifies an individual as a criminal.

INACCURATE
GANG
ARRESTIDENTIFICATION
CARDS
OF GANG
MEMBERS 
The database is full of inaccurate information and it
is not clear whether the CPD has procedures to
verify the accuracy of its database. Thus, the gang
database includes people who were never gang
members, people who joined and then quit gangs,
as well as people misidentified with the wrong
gang. Because documented gang affiliation is a
determining factor for where a person is housed
while incarcerated, mislabeling can fuel violence in
jails and prisons.   

LACK OF
GANG
ARREST
NOTIFICATION
CARDS AND
OPPORTUNITY FOR SELF DEFENSE
Those mistakenly included in the database have
no mechanism to contest their gang
membership label. Even if individuals were to
discover that they have been unjustifiably
included or that inaccurate information has
been entered into the database, there is no
established procedure by which they can
ensure that their records are removed. The
constitutional right to due process would
require notice of inclusion in the database and
the opportunity to contest the label. 

9

NO KNOWN PROCESS TO PURGE DATA 

From the testimony of CPD officials and
gang researchers, it appears that names are
never removed from the gang database.
Moreover, because an individual’s alleged
gang status appears to not be contained in
just a single “gang database,” thorough
removal processes may be more difficult
than simple removal of a marker or one’s
name from a list.
Criminal records are only purged by court
order. Investigatory Stop Reports (ISRs) are
supposed to be purged every three years.
But it is not clear whether a mark of "gang
affiliated" entered as a result of an ISR is
removed when the report is erased.   

 WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF
BEING LABELED AS GANG AFFILIATED?
GANG ARREST CARDS
HARASSMENT
Once listed in a gang database, individuals will
likely encounter increased police attention and
harassment. Gang database systems make gang
identification information routinely accessible for
use during traffic and other police stops. The
techniques used to gather information for gang
databases are commonly implemented through
widespread stops of young people of color
without any suspicion of criminal activity.  

TARGETED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT 
Gang involvement has resulted in targeted raids,
detention, and deportation for immigrants including Legal Permanent Residents, recipients
of Temporary Protective Status (TPS) and
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
Alleged gang affiliated immigrants are top
deportation priorities for the Department of
Homeland Security (DHS), regardless of whether
xii
or not they have a criminal history. If alleged
gang affiliated immigrants return to the US after
deportation, they will be charged with a felony.
Gang involvement is also one of the criteria used
to deny appeals for a stay of deportation through
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a federal
process that allows undocumented immigrants to
remain in the United States.
Immigration lawyers and advocates contend that
being classified as a gang member in immigration
proceedings directly impacts a defendant’s
ability to plead his or her case. Moreover, many
people in immigration court cannot afford to hire
private attorneys or adequately challenge the
xiii
evidence against them without a lawyer. 

10

IMPACT ON BAIL/BOND AND
SENTENCING DECISIONS 
Allegations of gang involvement has a
substantial impact on the presumption of
innocence to which people are entitled as
xiv
well as the right to non-excessive bail.
Since 2012, Chicago police district
commanders have been instructed to ensure
that “I-Bonds,” or personal recognizance
bonds that do not require cash payment are
not issued to “verified gang members.” xvThis is
true even for misdemeanor offenses.
Homeland Security attorneys often
characterize gang members as threats to
public safety, and ask judges to withhold
bond. 

BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT & HOUSING 
GANG ARREST CARDS
Criminal background checks are routine in
employment and housing application
processes. Thus, people labeled as gang
members can be denied employment
opportunities or professional licenses, as
well as housing opportunities that require a
background check. In Springfield, for
example, contrary to federal law, local police
officers who conducted criminal record
checks of individuals applying for housing
with the Springfield Housing Authority were
reportedly also providing Housing Authority
officials with information that included the
xvi
suspected gang affiliations of applicants.
However, it is not yet clear exactly if or how
information on alleged gang affiliation is
shared with potential employers in Chicago
or Chicago Housing Authority. 

 HOW CAN ISSUES WITH GANG
DATABASES BE ADDRESSED?
Issues with gang databases can be addressed in Chicago and Illinois through
action taken at the city, county and state level by: stopping gang designations,
exposing data and procedures, and fixing harm.  
Law enforcement officers should stop the designation of Chicagoans as gang
members pending an evaluation of the current procedures, civil rights
protections, and training pertaining to the maintenance of a gang database. 
Chicago Police Department and Illinois State Police should reveal and review
the data that is accessible or shared with Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies.
Chicago Police Department should respond to community inquiries regarding
the maintenance of a gang database by responding to FOIA requests and
making public the current policies, training, and checks and balances, for
how people are put into the gang database.
The City of Chicago should begin a process of inquiry independent from the
Chicago Police Department, such as the Office of the Inspector General, to
investigate the current procedures, civil rights protections, and training
pertaining to the gang database and determine whether the gang database
violates the constitutional and civil rights of U.S. born and immigrant Chicagoans. 
Law enforcement agencies should remove gang affiliation tags in all
databases. Asking for removal of gang-status could mean asking to have
markers of gang-status removed from multiple databases connected through
CLEAR that maintain gang data (such as the SSL), as well as removal or
alteration of responsive documents that would answer to any query in CLEAR
that would indicate positive gang status. 
Grant evidentiary or resentencing hearings for people accused and
convicted of gang-related crimes.  

11

 DATABASE NAME

Federal Bureau
of Investigation

Immigration
and Customs
Enforcement

Illinois State
Police

Cook County
Sheriff’s Office

12

National Crime
Information
Center (NCIC)

DESCRIPTION
NCIC consists of 21 files, including the
Gang file, which contains “records on
violent gangs and their members.”
Criteria for inclusion is not public. This
data is available to virtually all law
enforcement agencies and authorized
non-criminal justice agencies nationwide.

ICEGangs/
FALCON

FALCON was an immigration gang
database that was discontinued in
2016, purportedly because ICE agents
were not fully utilizing the expensive
software. Instead, agents make use of
existing databases, such as the
Investigative Case Management (ICM)
system and the Enforcement Integrated
Database (EID), both of which have
specific fields for gang affiliation.

Law Enforcement
Agencies Data
System (LEADS)

LEADS is the largest database in
Illinois, tracking more that 68,000 gang
members. An entry may include name,
date of birth, physical description,
description of car, and gang affiliation.
Any law enforcement agency can add a
gang to LEADS.

Regional Gang
Intelligence
Database (RGID)

RGID is a comprehensive gang database
for the Chicago/Cook County region
(including Wisconsin and Indiana).
Information meeting the Criminal
xvii
Intelligence Systems Operating Policies
criteria is housed within the database,
profiling gang members and their known
associates, including information such as
gang affiliation, rank, photos, tattoos,
vehicle information, phone numbers, and
other information. xviii

 TRACKED AND TARGETED

i

Leyton, S. (2003). The New Blacklists: The Threat to Civil Liberties Posed by Gang Databases. In: D.
Hawkins, S. Myers Jr. and R. Stone, ed., Crime Control and Social Justice: The Delicate Balance.
Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, pp.109-172.

ii

home.chicagopolice.org. (2017). Introduction to Gangs   Chicago Police Department. [online] Available
at: https://home.chicagopolice.org/community/gang-awareness/introduction-to-gangs/

iii

ABOUT THE POLICING IN
CHICAGO RESEARCH GROUP
Hubbard, J., Wyman, K. and Domma, F. eds., (2012). The Gang Book. Chicago: Chicago Crime
Commission.

iv

v

vi

vii

viii

ix
x

xi

Chicago is at the
forefront
struggles
against
Directives.chicagopolice.org.
(2015).
Criminal Streetof
Gang
Arrest Information.
[online] Available at:
http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57be2-12a5752b-27112-a586racialized policing. Building on long histories of
10288308dbafb745.html?hl=true

struggle, people of color in Chicago are forging
solidarities
theyunder
confront
the
Flores,powerful
G. (2017). Massive
Chicago gang as
database
fire: Database
is racially skewed, data shows;
and violates spirit of sanctuary city, advocates say. [online] Available at:
criminalization and death of Black youth,
http://sjnnchicago.medill.northwestern.edu/blog/2017/12/03/massive-chicago-gang-database-fireimmigration enforcement and deportations, and
database-racially-skewed-data-shows-violates-spirit-sanctuary-city-advocates-say/
the surveillance and harassment of Arab/Muslim
Flores, G. (2017). Massive Chicago gang database under fire: Database is racially skewed, data shows;
communities. Yet most studies of policing analyze
and violates spirit of sanctuary city, advocates say. [online] Available at:
these communities in isolation. Beginning in the
http://sjnnchicago.medill.northwestern.edu/blog/2017/12/03/massive-chicago-gang-database-firedatabase-racially-skewed-data-shows-violates-spirit-sanctuary-city-advocates-say/
Spring of 2017, a research workshop at UIC sought
to shift the focus by analyzing the growing web of
Home.chicagopolice.org. (2017). Introduction to Gangs   Chicago Police Department. [online] Available
connections between local police departments,
at: https://home.chicagopolice.org/community/gang-awareness/introduction-to-gangs/
federal immigration authorities, and national/
Hubbard, J., Wyman, K. and Domma, F. eds., (2012). The Gang Book. Chicago: Chicago Crime
homeland security agencies. The Policing in
Commission.
Chicago Research Group is a collaborative effort
Chicago Police Department uses binary gender codes.
of faculty and students at UIC in conversation with
social movement
toChicago.
offer[online]
research
Directives.chicagopolice.org.
(2015).organizations
Custom Notifications in
Available at:
http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57bf0-1456faf9-bfa14-570asupport in service to grassroots campaigns
a2deebf33c56ae59.html.
addressing police violence and complex webs of
Directives.chicagopolice.org.
policing in Chicago. 
(2015). Gang Intervention Probation Program. [online] Available at:
http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57be2-12bcfa66-cf112-bd06ae86f58b4f2d081e.html

xii ice.gov. (2017). Operation Community Shield: Efforts to dismantle violent street gangs remain a priority
10 years on. [online] Available at: https://www.ice.gov/features/community-shield

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

xiii Winston, A. (2017). Vague rules let ICE deport undocumented immigrants as gang members. The
Intercept. [online] Available at: https://theintercept.com/2017/02/17/loose-classification-rules-give-icebroad-authority-to-classify-immigrants-as-gang-members/
This report was compiled and edited by Janaé Bonsu

and Andy Clarno and made possible by the research

xiv Howell, B, K. (2011). “Fear itself: The impact of allegations of gang affiliation on pre-trial detention.” St.
contributions
of graduate students at the University
Thomas
Law Review, 23: 621-59.

of Illinois at Chicago. The findings presented in this

xv Directives.chicagopolice.org. (2015). Gang Violence Reduction Strategy. [online] Available at:
report is reflective of insights from interviews with
http://directives.chicagopolice.org/directives/data/a7a57bf0-136d1d31-16513-6d1dpeople directly impacted by policing in Chicago,
382b311ddf65fd3a.html

movement lawyers, researchers and activists and

xvi Leyton, S. (2003). The New Blacklists: The Threat to Civil Liberties Posed by Gang Databases. In: D.
organizers
within
theControl
Chicago
Gang
Database
Hawkins,
S. Myers Jr. and
R. Stone,End
ed., Crime
and Social
Justice:
The Delicate Balance.
Westport,
CT: Greenwood
pp.109-172.
group
of thePublishing
larger Group,
Expanded
Sanctuary campaign

anchored by BYP100, Mijente, and Organized

xvii The Criminal Intelligence Systems Operating Policies (28 CFR Part 23) is a guideline for law
Communities
Against
Deportations. 
enforcement
agencies that operate
federally
funded multijurisdictional criminal intelligence systems.
xviii Sheriff’s Order re: Sherriff’s Office intelligence Center (SOIC), document obtained through FOIA request