CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Police Department will be assessed and reported on by a federal monitor for at least two more years after a judge ruled to extend the consent decree that the city has been under since 2015.
The judge said that based on the most recent semiannual report and information provided by the monitor in September, “It is clear that, while the City has made substantial progress, it has not yet achieved substantial and effective compliance at this time.”
Read the court filing extending the consent decree here.
The most recent semiannual report, a 144-page document released last month, found that Cleveland Police are still struggling to hold officers accountable and meet standards spelled out in the consent decree.
The semiannual report found there are “significant and critical areas” where Cleveland Police remain in noncompliance with the 2015 federal consent decree, including accountability, community relations and staffing.
RELATED: Semiannual report confirms Cleveland Police failing in critical areas due to understaffing
The report says the city’s not only doing a bad job retaining officers, it also found a lack of “coordination and direction” when it comes to recruiting officers.
RELATED: Dangerously Understaffed: 46 officers left Cleveland police in May, June
It also says police hired people even after red flags turned up in their background investigations.
Consent decree costs
Mayor Justin Bibb, Cleveland’s first new mayor since 2006, said earlier this year that he wanted the city out from under the consent decree.
Read the 11th Semiannual Report, released in September 2022, here.
“The quickest we can get out of this decree, the better it will be for the police department and the taxpayers so we can use that money to reinvest back in, long-term,” Bibb said in August.
The Bibb administration released this statement on Thursday:
The City of Cleveland thanks the court for its ruling and is grateful that Judge Oliver recognizes the substantial progress the city has made thus far. Since its inception seven years ago, the Consent Decree has always included a two-year sustainability phase. As our progress continues, the city expects to be in a position to request the court to enter into the sustainability phase consistent with today’s ruling.
Since taking office in January, the Bibb Administration has made progress on police reform in several areas, including the expanded use of the diversion center for non-violent offenders, more crisis intervention training and increased community engagement through mandatory park and walks and a host of community events that encourage positive interaction between law enforcement and residents.
The Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) has shown notable improvements since the consent decree's inception. The number of excessive force and improper procedure complaints have decreased in the past two years and there has been a 24% overall increase in the use of Crisis Intervention Team de-escalation techniques.
Mayor Bibb has worked closely with the law department and CDP to create a national model for progressive police reform in Cleveland.
The Mayor’s Office is building a team that will provide continued support to CDP to facilitate an objective and thorough review process and assist with the implementation of the consent decree. The city is in the process of hiring the executive director for the Police Accountability Team, which will support CDP's continuing improvements and assist with the final successful implementation of the consent decree, and is in the final stages of interviews for the new 13-member Community Police Commission established by Charter Section 115 (formerly known as Issue 24).
The Bibb Administration is committed to long-lasting and sustainable change in the City of Cleveland.
RELATED: City at ‘critical stage’ under consent decree
The Marshall Project - Clevelandrecently reported the consent decree cost Cleveland at least $60 million since it signed a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice in May 2015.
Mark Puente, Investigative Reporter, said, "It costs taxpayers a lot of money. Anywhere from $6 to 11 million per year to implement new programs, buy new technology, buy new equipment, and train officers."
Puente said the costs are a conservative estimate since Cleveland has not responded to his records requests about the pricetag of implementing the consent decree.
Puente also said more extensions may be in Cleveland's future. He said records he reviewed show other cities under consent decrees each remained under federal oversight for more than a decade.
"It will be around awhile," he said. "Don't be surprised if it gets extended even further."
Today's order means Cleveland will remain under federal monitoring until at least October 2024.
Compliance failures
After the latest scathing report, which, among other problems, found Cleveland is failing to properly conduct investigations into officer-involved shootings.
One glaring example: the report says an officer shot his partner and lied about it but was never punished.
The report also found Cleveland takes too long to investigate complaints against officers and needs to be more transparent with the public.
The consent decree is supposed to reduce the use of excessive force by officers, which the report says is still happening. The report also acknowledges the city has improved how it deals with people experiencing a mental health crisis.
The city and US Department of Justice entered into the consent decree in May 2015 after federal investigators found Cleveland police engaged in a pattern or practice of using excessive force and that issues within the department contributed to that practice.
Under the terms of the consent decree, Cleveland must be substantially compliant with all expectations and remain compliant for two years.
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