Invisible Institute

Reporters from across newsrooms in Chicago are collaborating to collect visual evidence of federal agents detaining people & using force in Chicago. Send videos to tinyurl.com/chicagojournalists, or get in touch via email chicagojournalists@protonmail.com.

The first investigation in our partnership with @propublica found that Chicago Police fail to investigate officers repeatedly accused of sexual assault. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Good news! Today, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled in favor of transparency, against closed hearings for police misconduct cases. We previously covered this issue for the Chicago Reader in November 2023.

Nearly eight years after Chicago police killed Harith “Snoop” Augustus in South Shore, an appellate court has ordered a new trial in a case brought by Augustus’ family. The decision overturns the 2023 verdict that ruled in favor of the officers.

Invisible Institute and @thepulp.org filed a lawsuit in Montana seeking access to police employment data. The case challenges a policy that blocks information used to identify “wandering officers.”

We’re hiring a Part-Time Volunteer Coordinator @ Invisible Institute Support Beneath the Surface — a project connecting community knowledge + data journalism to investigate police abuse $45.40/hr · up to 20 hrs/week Apply: invisible.institute/jobs

The National Police Index is now live, bringing together police employment records from 24 states and makes it possible to track how officers move between departments, helping surface patterns of officers carrying misconduct across jurisdictions and strengthening public access to accountability.

Originally published in 2002, On The Inside Looking Out documents the final days of Stateway Gardens before demolition. From the seventeenth floor of 3517–19 South Federal—known as “The Kingdom”—residents could see across the city.

The National Police Index lets you search officers in 24 states by name, agency, and more. It expands public access to track movement between departments, identify hiring patterns, and access misconduct records. Start searching here: national.cpdp.co/

This week, we officially launched a major update to the National Police Index — a tool built to help communities, journalists, attorneys, and researchers track officers as they move between agencies. Visit the new NPI website here: national.cpdp.co

The National Police Index’s brand new website provides unprecedented public access to police employment records from across the United States and allows users to track law enforcement employment records across 24 states — searchable by officer name, agency, and more. national.cpdp.co/

Join us and @investigatewest.bsky.social on March 12 to learn how to find police employment and misconduct data in Idaho, Oregon and Washington — and how to use it in real accountability reporting. Register here: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

Join our team! The Invisible Institute is hiring an investigative reporter to join our team and work alongside our staff to report on police abuse, state violence, and official secrecy in Chicago and beyond. Apply by Feb. 22nd! invisible.institute/jobs