Missing data among the event types within the data from the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) is nothing new to CJP. We have wages a quiet war for many years to get OEMC to rectify the missing data between the Event Types document (embedded below) they hand out through FOIA and what is found in the actual police call for service data.
Event Types: Are codes used by OEMC call takers to categorize the reasons people are calling 911 requesting police services. This data is used for all kinds of statistical analysis including determining staffing and resource allocation. It is also communicated to police officers so they know how quickly they need to respond to calls and what it is they should be expecting when they arrive on scene.
This document should contain all the information about all the event types that are present in the data OEMC maintains. Unfortunately there has always been missing data that they agency cannot be bothered to address. You would think an agency tasked with such important work would make sure there was no missing data in they data they produce. For over a decade every time we have FOIAed data from OEMC there has been missing event types that the agency just refuses to address.
CJP maintains a data warehouse of metadata on some 55 + million calls for police service – calls to 911 seeking police assistance. Once again we are in a position where OEMC has supplied us a document that lists all the event types according to OEMC but in actuality the data in our warehouse contains dozens of event types that are not found within the document.
This FOIA request is our attempt to get OEMC to fess up about why the discrepancies exist and what the event types stand for. We have tried this multiple times throughout the years without any success. This time we are committed to suing to force the agency to come clean.
This is just another example of the incompetence and corruption found within Chicago justice system. It will be interesting to see if the response we get back from OEMC is any different in the Lightfoot era. Somehow, we feel it will not be any different.
FOIA Content
To: Office of Emergency Management & Communications
Subject: Chicago Justice Project FOIA – Missing Event Types
In accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, I request that your office provide the following public records:
FOIA A
Documents sufficient to show (or from which may be derived), the full definitions of the event types detailed below that are present in data we obtained through FOIA from your agency but are not listed in your Event Types / Descriptions Document.
Event Types: Found in data but not in the document:
• AIRBAG
• ASIP
• CC
• COMINT
• CTARID
• EMS101
• EMS1
• ETECH1
• FIR101
• FIR1
• FSTEAL
• HDM
• HSCC
• HS
• HUN
• OEM+B
• OEM+P
• OEM+T
• OEM101
• OEM211
• OEM311
• OEM411
• OEM511
• OEMAE
• OEMAL
• OEMAM
• OEMAPI
• OEMAT
• OEMBOA
• OEMBOM
• OEMBP
• OEMBT
• OEMBY
• OEMCAN
• OEMCOL
• OEMD0
• OEMDEE
• OEME1
• OEME3
• OEMEP1
• OEMES
• OEMEXP
• OEMEX
• OEMF1
• OEMGN
• OEMHAZ
• OEMHBT
• OEMHM1
• OEMHM2
• OEMHM3
• OEMLC
• OEMLF
• OEMMAR
• OEMNFY
• OEMORA
• OEMORI
• OEMORS
• OEMOUT
• OEMPC
• OEMPLA
• OEMPLN
• OEMRIO
• OEMSBR
• OEMSB
• OEMSHC
• OEMSHR
• OEMSIR
• OEMSMD
• OEMSM
• OEMSO
• OEMSP
• OEMSVI
• OEMTC
• OEMTR
• ORDAI
• ORDDIS
• OUTPHO
• PARKCK
• PHNFY
• PHONIN
• PLATE
• PLN1-5
• POL1
• PPAGE
• PRPAGE
• RECKLE
• RECOVR
• SS:BL
• SS:PI
• SS:WH
• SST
• STEAL
• SWAT
• TEST1A
• TESTC
• TEST
• TORW
• UNPKG
Event Types: In the document but not in the data
• HBT
• SERGEANTS
• SVIP
• CINDY
DEFINITIONS
“Document” and/or “Documents” means any documents or electronically stored information of any kind—including writings, drawings, graphs, charts, photographs, sound recordings, images, and other data or data compilations—stored in any medium from which information can be obtained either directly or, if necessary, after translation by the responding party into a reasonably usable form.
INSTRUCTIONS
If the agency withholds any document or information pertinent to the requests made herein, please identify the document or information in as much detail as is possible, and detail in specific language why each document or piece of information is being withheld.
If any information requested herein is withheld on the basis of a claim of privilege or other protection as material prepared in anticipation of litigation or trial, then that claim shall be made expressly in a writing that describes the nature of the Documents, Communications, or Things not produced or disclosed in a manner that will enable us to assess the applicability of the privilege or protection. With regard to each claim of privilege or protection, the following information should be provided in the response or the objection:
(a) the type of Document, e.g., letter or memorandum;
(b) general subject matter of the Document;
(c) the date of the Document;
(d) such other information as is sufficient to identify the Document for a subpoena duces tecum, including, where appropriate, the author, addressee, and any other recipient of the Document, and, where not apparent, the relationship of the author, addressee, and any other recipient to each other; and
(e) the nature of the privilege or protection;
(f) if applicable, the litigation or trial of which he document was created in anticipation.
If any Document identified herein has been lost, discarded, or destroyed, each such Document should be identified as completely as possible, including as to each such Document, its date, general nature (e.g., letter, memorandum, telegram, telex, photograph, computer printout), subject matter, each author or originator, each person indicated as an addressee or copy recipient, and its former custodian(s). In addition, as to each such Document, the following information shall be supplied:
(a) date of disposal, loss, or destruction;
(b) manner of disposal, loss, or destruction;
(c) reason for disposal or destruction, or any explanation of loss;
(d) persons authorizing the disposal or destruction;
(e) persons having knowledge of the disposal, destruction, or loss; and
(f) persons who destroyed, lost, or disposed or the Document or Thing.
I look forward to hearing from you in writing within five working days, as required by the Act 5 ILCS 140(3). Please direct all questions or responses to this FOIA request to this email address by responding to this email.
Tracy Siska
