Cleveland Police Monitoring Team Report on Community & Problem-Oriented Policing

Summary of Feedback & Recommendations

Overview

The Policing Project has been retained by the Cleveland Police Monitoring Team to assist with implementing the federally mandated reforms of the Cleveland Division of Police. In the first half of 2017, the Monitoring Team and city stakeholders embarked on a collaborative process to solicit public feedback on what community policing should look like in Cleveland. This report summarizes the feedback received through this engagement process.

Key Findings

1). Community members do not feel as though CDP officers know or respect them or their communities. A substantial majority of community members believe officers are often not familiar with local residents and their problems.

2). Community members would like to see more ways for officers to get to know them and more ways to promote more positive interactions between officers and the public.

3). While there are existing formal structures in Cleveland for community members to discuss policing concerns, few people are aware of them or comfortable with them.