Executive Summary
The Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today Act (SAFE-T Act) is omnibus criminal justice reform legislation passed by the Illinois General Assembly. This report is the one part of a series of issue briefs relying on research, analysis, and investigation to evaluate the impact of the SAFE-T Act’s reforms related to policing behavior and public safety.
All law enforcement officers in Illinois are required to be certified by the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board (ILETSB). Certification is the state’s system for verifying that an officer meets statewide minimum personnel standards and has completed required examinations and training. ILETSB is responsible for providing officer training, setting law enforcement standards, and dispensing law enforcement grants throughout the state. Having a comprehensive law enforcement decertification system is crucial to improving accountability, public trust in law enforcement, and public safety. A state-managed certification and decertification system is intended to ensure that officers across the state possess fundamental skills and training.
The SAFE-T Act fundamentally changed the way the state decertifies police officers. These changes have the potential to improve accountability and public trust in law enforcement, and some segments of the new process are underway. However, crucial aspects remain theoretical years after the law became effective. Furthermore the public databases designed to promote transparency are still incomplete, making it hard for the public to access information about decertification. The lack of progress and any further delay denies the public an avenue to hold officers accountable for wrongdoing, threatens public safety, and risks further deterioration of trust in law enforcement.
