Collaborative Agreement Refresh

More than fifteen years ago, in 2002, Cincinnati took part in the historical Collaborative Agreement to find solutions for ongoing issues related to community-police relations. The agreement was submitted to the Federal Court and became a national model for cities across the nation. Now, nine years after the conclusion of the initial document, the City voluntarily revisited the Collaborative Agreement through a 'refresh' process.

Once again, the City collaborated with independent contractor Saul Green to assist with the partnership and identify gaps, assess barriers and take successes to the next level. Mr. Green initially served as the court-appointed monitor in the five-year period following the initial Agreement.

Under his guidance, the City and its community partners worked on four primary components:

  • Evaluation and Accountability. Establishing and implementing a standardized, accountable evaluation process on the plan’s provisions including community problem-oriented policing, biased-free policing, arrests, risk management, training, the Citizens Complaint Authority (CCA), and community input.
  • Community Engagement. Enhancing the role of the CCA by utilizing them as a neutral party to ensure strong community engagement as an essential component in managing public safety and community problem oriented policing.
  • Independent Review. Mr. Green and his team conducted a CA review and provided the City with a progress report identifying areas for further scrutiny, recommendations and feedback.
  • Action Steps. The City worked with Mr. Green, community and CA Refresh stakeholders to develop specific action steps and completion timetable to include a reporting template.

Throughout the Refresh, Mr. Green was provided with reports from various City departments and agencies, as well as community feedback. Critical to this work is the Manager’s Advisory Group (MAG), which provides vital feedback and oversight of Cincinnati’s policing efforts.

In the drop-down menus on this page users can find a list of key community partners in the Collaborative Agreement Refresh, key documents related to both the original Collaborative Agreement and the Refresh, a Collaborative Agreement Refresh survey, and media related to the historic event.