FIND A DEPARTMENT MEMBER

Follow these tips on how to find information on a friend or relative who was a member of the Chicago Police Department. We have compiled the below advice to get you started with your search and answer some of the most frequently asked questions.

GETTING STARTED

The police department maintains the following records.

PERSONNEL JACKETS

A single sheet of 8.5 x 14.0 inch paper stock, double sided, containing information on Civilian and Sworn Department Members who Died (while employed), were Fired, Resigned or Retired between 1910 and 1959.

Information contained on these jackets include the officers Name (Last, First, M.I.), Address, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Former Occupation, Rank (at time of separation), Date of Temporary Appointment, Date of Probationary Appointment, Date of Regular Appointment, Record of Fines, Reprimands and Suspensions (Date, No., Days Pay Violation Rule, No., Paragraphs), Reinstatements / Other Appointments (By Order of, Rank, Date, Order No.), Resignation / Death / Discharged Information (Date, Cause, Precinct), Promotions and Credible Mentions. Star Numbers were not recorded on the personnel jacket.

HARD CARDS

A single card of 3.25 x 7.25 inch card stock, single sided, containing information on Civilian and Department Members who Died (while employed), were Fired, Resigned or Retired between 1970 and 1989.

Information contained on these cards include the officers Name (Last, First, M.I.), Address, Date of Birth, Date of Appointment, Date of Separation (also lists the type i.e. Died, Resigned, Retired). The cards also list the Employee Number, Star Number, District, Rank and Social Security Number; however this information is not complete and is not listed on all hard cards.

ELECTRONIC RECORDS

Beginning in 1990 the Department began transitioning to electronic record keeping. The database contains information on Civilian and Department Members who Died (while employed), were Fired, were Hired, Resigned or Retired from 1990 to the Present.

Information contained in this database include the officers Name (Last, First, M.I.), Address, Date of Birth, Date of Appointment, Date of Separation, Employee Number, Star Number, District, Rank and Social Security Number.

STAR CARDS

A single card of 4.0 x 6.0 inch card stock, single sided, containing the names of Civilian and Sworn Department Members who were issued a star number between 1907 and circa 2000.

Information contained on these cards include the Star Number, Rank, Name (Last, First, M.I.), Date of Issue, Date of Loss, Date of Return. Each star number is assigned its own card and are stored numerically by rank. Officer information can only be found by star number. Cards with a black box around the star number denote an officer who was killed in the Line of Duty and their star was placed in “The Chief’s Cabinet” The Superintendent’s Honored Star Case.

LOST RECORDS

Unfortunately some personnel records have been lost or not returned over the years. During research we discovered that Personnel Jackets from 1960 – 1969 were taken by the Federal Government from the old Chicago Police Headquarters records storage vault located at 1121 South State Street. The files were never returned according to our sources who worked there.

In 2000 the Chicago Police Department moved into their present headquarters building located at 3510 South Michigan Avenue. The records in the storage vault were packed up and some were sent to the Department’s bulk storage facility, others were moved to the new headquarters building and some were destroyed. According to our sources when the Chicago Police Department absorbed the Chicago Park District Police Department in 1957, the personnel files were transferred to the Chicago Police Department. Those files were housed in the records storage vault at 1121 South State Street up until the Department opened the new headquarters building. Our sources tell us that the park district files were destroyed during the move. It is unknown whether those park district files contained the personnel files of the Lincoln, South and West Park District Police Departments which were all merged into the Chicago Park District Police Department in 1934. Hopefully the files weren’t destroyed and were sent to the Department’s bulk storage facility and one day will be found and preserved.

PHOTO ARCHIVES

DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS

NEWSPAPER ARCHIVES

OTHER SOURCES