Chicago Police Department Announces Major Restructuring

CHICAGO — A major reorganizing of the Chicago Police Department will result in about 150 more police officers and detectives being sent back in the neighborhoods while streamlining operations at the top, the department said in a news release on Thursday. The reorganization, which Interim CPD Superintendent Charlie Beck says is similar to the best practices at police departments in several other major United States cities, will include two new offices at the top: the Office of Operations and Office of Constitutional Policing and Reform Management.

"This reorganization is about placing the maximum level of police resources closest to the communities that we serve," Beck said. "In addition to District accountability, the restructuring will bring more resources directly to communities under a single chain of command and elevate the reform effort that is crucial to the future of policing in Chicago."

Here's a look at the department's new organizational chart, which was just released Thursday morning:

The new organization also includes the department's first Bureau of Counter-terrorism. The bureau will be responsible for all targeted operations into both international and domestic criminal enterprises, Beck said.

Also, a centralized homicide unit will be created to focus "exclusively on murder and death investigations and create a dedicated workforce to specialize in this area."

The reorganization is set to take place in three phases, Beck said, and take up to a few months.