Police Reform in Cleveland: 100 Years Project
The CPC’s 100 Year Project documents the history of policing and police reform in Cleveland from 1922 to the present. Follow our timeline starting in Cleveland in the 1920s, or see past reform recommendations made by policing topic. This is an ongoing project and we encourage all interested individuals and organizations to join us in expanding on this research.
Policing Topic:
Transparency and Oversight
Overview
The 2015 Consent Decree emphasizes that transparency is essential to building and maintaining community trust and oversight, as well as allowing the Cleveland Division of Police to learn what it is doing well and what needs to be improved.
In 1973, the American Bar Association recommended that the Cleveland police be more open with Cleveland’s citizens, as this would empower citizens to make informed decisions. This is because it is ultimately the responsibility of the citizens of Cleveland to decide how they want the police to operate.
To ensure that any oversight of the police is not just an internal function, the 1922 report on Criminal Justice in Cleveland recommended that the Safety Department and police be led by civilians from outside of the department. In the 1930s, the appointment of Eliot Ness as Safety Director was an example of this recommendation being put into practice.
Ness introduced more oversight into the structure of policing in Cleveland, but his reforms did not last long after he was ousted from his position. In the 1960s and 1970s, several commissions made similar recommendations. For example, the 1966 Little Hoover Commission recommended that there be more formalized power structures to assure oversight, higher standards of management, and that the police look outwards to organizational developments in the private and non-profit sectors.
Timeline of Key Reports & Recommendations
The timeline below summarizes the recommended reforms related to Transparency and Oversight from the reports & documents that reviewed Cleveland police operations and encouraged reform. These are not the exact words from the text, but are summarized by our researchers as best as possible – highlighting key points and phrases.
Summary of Recommendations:
Transparency and Oversight
1920s - 1930s
- Get outsiders to lead the department; preferably a civilian with experience in human relations (Criminal Justice in Cleveland), (Reorganization Police Department)
- The police organization should not be under the Director of public safety. They should be a separate entity with a single head that reports to the mayor. (Criminal Justice in Cleveland)
- The Department of police should be in the charge of a single civilian administrative head, to be known as the “Director of Police”. This person should be from the private sector with understanding of human resources (Criminal Justice in Cleveland)
- Detailed administrative records should be kept and organized for data collection (Criminal Justice in Cleveland)
Summary of Recommendations:
Transparency and Oversight
1940s - 1950s
- No highlights for this particular area. Please check back as our analysis continues.
Summary of Recommendations:
Transparency and Oversight
1960s - 1970s
- More formalized power structures; higher standards for management; look towards private and non-profit sector; hire outside consultants (or hire a staff to assess) (Police Services in the City of Cleveland Ohio), (The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society), (Cleveland's Unfinished Business in its Inner City), (Confidential Memo on Organizing Public Safety in Cleveland)
- Improve openness and transparency to keep citizens informed (Standards of Performance of the Urban Police Function)
- Establish a citizen advisory committee (The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society), (Cleveland's Unfinished Business in its Inner City), (Kerner Commission)
- Establish fair systems to review officer conduct and resolve citizen complaints (Cleveland's Unfinished Business in its Inner City), (The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society), (Kerner Commission)
- Improve openness and transparency of police operations (ABA)
- Establish policies which protect and foster the right of the press to obtain information for dissemination to the public (National Strategy to Reduce Crime)
Summary of Recommendations:
Transparency and Oversight
1980s - 1990s
- No highlights for this particular area. Please check back as our analysis continues.
Summary of Recommendations:
Transparency and Oversight
2000s - Present
- The Community Police Commission's Report on Civilian Oversight of Police
- A detailed list of all reform efforts for this time period can be found in the Consent Decree. Read the Consent Decree here or click below to see all documents and recommendations in the 2000’s - present
Continuing the Research
The CPC’s research into the documented history of the Cleveland police is ongoing as part of the 100 Years Project. We will be looking further into the topic of Transparency and Oversight by analyzing past recommendations concerning oversight bodies and oversight efforts.
By looking into Cleveland’s past, the CPC aims to help the community gain a better understanding of what policing practices have been successful, what issues exist, and what lessons still need to be learned to move forward in creating a more sustainable policing model for the future. If you are an individual or organization interested in joining us in taking a deeper dive into this information, please contact us to get involved in expanding on this research.
Join the Research
Please contact CPC Senior Policy Analyst, Ryan Walker, at rwalker@clecpc.org to get involved in expanding on this research.
Schedule a Presentation
CPC researchers are available for interviews and custom presentations for schools, groups or organizations interested in this project or its findings.
Questions or Feedback
We welcome your questions & comments about this project. Contact us via the information listed on our contact page or start a conversation on our community forum.
100 Years Project: Explore by Decade or Topic
Read about key reform recommendations made by year, or learn about how each police reform issue area mandated by the 2015 Consent Decree compares to recommendations made in the past.
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