Proposed Changes to the CDP’s Disciplinary Matrix Policy

June 2020

The Community Police Commission (CPC) submitted recommendations that would make substantial changes to the Cleveland Division of Police’s (CDP) current disciplinary process.

The recommended improvements to the CDP’s Disciplinary Guidance Matrix outlines the changes to be made that would bring the Cleveland Division of Police closer to being into compliance with the consent decree than if the policy remained unchanged.

Improving the discipline policy continues to be a high priority for both the community and officers. It is important to the community that officers are held accountable for their actions and clear guidelines will let officers know that the way discipline is carried out will be consistent and fair.

The Cleveland Police Monitoring Team’s 2018 Police Officer Focus Group report states, “Officers believe that CDP’s administrators are perpetuating a culture of excessive and inconsistent discipline to make it appear that reform is taking place, as opposed to using discipline to teach and impose thoughtful accountability.”

If implemented, the CPC’s recommendations would effectively address the community’s and officer’s concerns by:

  • Clarifying existing violations which would reduce supervisors’ arbitrary disciplinary decisions.
  • Ensuring the creation, availability, and disclosure of proper documentation relevant to disciplinary decisions.
  • Narrows the use of discretion by limiting mitigating and aggravating factors to the most serious offenses.
  • Creating a new oversight committee tasked with making sure disciplinary outcomes are consistent.

The CPC’s proposed changes along with a draft showing how the new policy would look can be read below.

Read the CPC’s proposed Changes: CPC Changes to the Disciplinary Matrix GPO (pdf)

Read the new policy Draft: Draft CPC Model of Disciplinary Guidance GPO (pdf)

Review of Cleveland Division of Police Training Curricula

Published: March 2020

Report Summary

Part of the Community Police Commission’s mandate under the consent decree is to review and comment on the implementation of training initiatives and programs facilitated by the Cleveland Division of Police.

This evaluation provides a gap analysis to determine the degree to which the mandated reforms as it relates to the revised curricula have been implemented. The analysis also shows whether community feedback has been incorporated and if best practices in adult education were used in developing the revised training curricula.

The guiding documents used to frame this analysis are the 2015 Consent Decree and the feedback collected during community forums from 2015 – 2019.

Read the Report: Review of CDP Training Curricula (pdf) 

CPC Accountability Work Group Report

September 2019

This report by the CPC Accountability Work Group examines police accountability in Cleveland beyond discipline and makes recommendations to enhance police practices.

This report was made possible through the commitment and support of community members from various experiences, belief systems, and cultures that shared invaluable insight, asked challenging questions, and were willing to engage in substantive discourse, at times heated, but always necessary to move the work forward.

Accountability is an expansive topic made manageable by the committee members who aided in streamlining ideas, while remaining focused on reflecting the voice of the community and the important role of every police officer as a collaborator. The CPC is thankful for the dedicated committee and community members that contributed to this report.

Read the Report: Accountability Work Group Report (pdf) 

Appendix: Accountability Work Group Report Appendix (pdf)

CPC Statement on Body Worn Cameras for Officers

May 9, 2017

The Cleveland Community Police Commission stands firmly in support of requiring the use of body-cameras whether officers are engaged in primary or secondary employment. The Commission strongly recommends if police are acting under the color of law, they should be held to the same standards of accountability as if they were on-duty.

Read the Full Statement (pdf)

Cleveland Division of Police Discipline GPO and Matrix Feedback

May 1, 2017

The Cleveland Community Police Commission, as per the Consent Decree, is providing recommendations for the disciplinary guidelines GPO 1.1.11.

Our recommendations, highlighting parameters that are insufficiently addressed or not addressed at all, were informed by research of best practices and example disciplinary policies from police departments around the nation. Input also was sought and received from the community in two ways. Various groups and organizations such as SURJ (Standing Up for Racial Justice) and the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) provided written assessments, and community members from across the City of Cleveland have volunteered their feedback during break-out discussions and public comment periods at Commission meetings.

Read Document: Disciplinary GPO/Matrix Policy Feedback (pdf)

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More CPC Reports & Recommendations

CPC Work Group Feedback on Search and Seizure Policies

The CPC Search and Seizure Work Group reviewed the following CDP policies in five key areas centered around the 4th Amendment: Search and Seizure, Investigatory Stops, Probable Cause/Warrantless Arrests, Miranda Warning and Waiver, Strip Searches & Body Cavity Searches.

Interactions with Youth GPO

While not specifically mandated by the Consent Decree, the “Interactions with Youth” policy supports the Community and Problem-Oriented Policing (CPOP) values set forth in the Consent Decree requiring CDP to “promote and strengthen partnerships within the community,” and specifically “including how to establish partnerships and actively engage civilians and community organizations, including youth, LGBT…communities.”

Interactions with Transgender, Intersex and Gender Non-Conforming Individuals GPO

This policy supports the Community and Problem-Oriented Policing (CPOP) values set forth in the Consent Decree, requiring CDP to “develop and implement a comprehensive and integrated community and problem-oriented policing model in order to promote and strengthen partnerships within the community,” and specifically “including how to establish partnerships and actively engage civilians and community organizations,…

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CDP Mission Statement Best Practices

April 25, 2016

The Mission Statement Best Practices Report is the CPC’s response about mission statements. It is issued on behalf of the community to provide insights to Cleveland Division of Police and other Consent Decree Stakeholders in compliance with the Consent Decree.

“CDP will ensure that its mission statement reflects its commitment to community oriented policing and will integrate community and problem-oriented policing principles into its management, policies and procedures, recruitment, training, personnel evaluations, resource deployment, tactics, and accountability systems (Consent Decree, ¶ 28).”


Read Document: Mission Statement Best Practices (pdf)