chicago-area-general-orders

General Orders form the standard operating procedures for their police departments. They govern everything from uniform standards to use of force policies. It is our firm belief that the public deserves the right to review and scrutinize these orders.

This repository aims at compiling the "General Orders" for all Chicago area Police Departments in a central location as an effort toward increasing transparency.

FOIA Request Template

Sending a FOIA request is simple. Once you've identified the FOIA officer to contact, a simple email does the trick. Below is a template you can use.

Subject: Open Records Request re: Police General Orders

Hello! I went looking for this online and couldn't find it, so:

Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/1, the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, I'm
writing to request the following information:

A complete copy of the General Orders of the [CITY/TOWN/VILLAGE OF WHATEVER].

Please send this information electronically. In the event that there are fees, 
I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of 
fulfilling my request

I am requesting this information as an individual, for personal and
not commercial use.

Please direct questions about this request to the following email address:

MY@EMAIL

Per 5 ILCS 140/3, I look forward to your timely response to this
request. Thanks in advance for this.

Sincerely,
MY CONTACT INFORMATION