In a bid to tighten supervision on the street and deepen neighborhood ties, the Chicago Police Department has bumped its Unity of Command and Span of Control pilot from three districts up to eight, saying the shakeup is already changing how watches run across the city.
Learn about how this recently expanded program is making a day-to-day difference here: https://x.com/i/status/2016906722661523744
— Chicago Police (@ChicagoPolice) January 29, 2026
The program keeps officers with the same sergeants, schedules and beats, and leans heavily on mentorship and consistency on patrol. Department officials say the idea is straightforward: steadier supervision and familiar faces on the same blocks should improve day-to-day operations and help rebuild community trust.
Where the Pilot Will Grow
The expansion adds the 15th (Austin), 16th (Jefferson Park), 17th (Albany Park), 20th (Lincoln) and 24th (Rogers Park) districts to a model first piloted in the 4th (South Chicago), 6th (Gresham) and 7th (Englewood), according to the Chicago Police Department. The announcement included a downloadable “Unity of Command and Span of Control schedule pilot program” PDF that lays out squad assignments and shift patterns.
By pushing the pilot into very different parts of the city, CPD says it will be able to measure how steady, smaller-team supervision affects patrol consistency across a wider range of neighborhoods.
How the Pilot Works
Unity of Command, in CPD’s version, assigns officers to a single sergeant who shares their start times, days off and geographic area. Span of Control limits how many officers that sergeant oversees on a given watch…