Community policing is a philosophy that emphasizes collaboration between police and the community to build trust and solve problems. The Chicago Police Department's (CPD) consent decree mandates that every CPD member – sworn officers and civilians – be responsible for making community policing a core component of its programs, training, resource deployment, and accountability systems.

It is imperative that CPD accomplish the changes the Consent Decree requires while maintaining the day-to-day operations that ensure public safety. Both priorities require careful planning of workforce allocation for how officers are deployed.