By Henry Hodge

I covered a recent Cleveland Community Police Commission (CPC) meeting for the Cleveland Documenters and learned the committee faces a lot of challenges in trying to improve and review police practices.

Because I don’t think many people know how the commission works or what it does, I reached out to Cleveland Community Police Commission Interim Executive Director Jason Goodrick to get his response to some questions.

Our questions are in bold. His responses have been lightly edited for clarity.

Q. Are there any recent changes or reforms that the commission has recommended to improve police practices?

Yes. First, the commission no longer makes recommendations. In 2021 the charter of the City of Cleveland was revised. The revision gave the CPC final authority over police policy. For instance, the Commission recently made changes to the “Gunshot Detection” General Police Order. Specifically, these changes are to ensure that the police do not use the gunshot detection system as a sole reason to stop and frisk citizens who may not be associated with any crime but who may have been in the area when a gunshot was detected. In another instance, the commission sent an order to the chief of police to establish an accessible public system for each police officer’s personnel file. The file must contain records related to discipline and employee evaluations amongst other things. The commission also looks at all new police training and works with the division to ensure that it incorporates community values and best practices.

What are the challenges the committee faces in improving law enforcement practices and how do you hope to overcome them? 

The greatest challenge is politics. Police reform and “law and order” are very divisive issues. The commission in 2021 researched the past 100 years of police reform in Cleveland. This comprehensive project showed that despite numerous attempts over a century at police reform we still faced similar problems across that time with police behavior and practices. One of the reasons was the lack of political will to make a change that lasts. In addition, the police are very organized and have a strong lobby which works against lasting reforms.

What programs or initiatives does the commission promote to improve police-community relationships and foster trust?

A prerequisite for improving relationships is trust. We support programs and initiatives that center on open, transparent and honest communication between the police and the citizens they serve.

How does the committee evaluate and handle complaints and allegations of police misconduct within the department?

The CPC is not a frontline investigative agency. This means that other organizations are charged with investigating misconduct by officers. This includes our peer oversight entity the Office of Professional Standards which is charged with investigating civilian complaints against police officers. Should the officer receive discipline the CPC has discretionary “final authority” to increase discipline if the Commission believes there is a justifiable reason to do so. The Commission can also analyze the systems and policies that guide the police accountability process in general and implement improvements to those systems.