CINCINNATI — Cincinnati community leaders and police officials gathered online Tuesday to discuss the refresh of the Collaborative Agreement, originally created in 2002 as part of an effort to improve police-community relations.
Cincinnati police chief Eliot Isaac, members of city council, the Fraternal Order of Police president, members of the Collaborative Agreement and members of the Black United Front all gathered to discuss more than 150 recommendations for police and community improvements.
"Earlier this summer there was a lot of anger," said Isaac. "Now it's time for the smoke to clear and get some work done...think we are now moving to a place where we can have some productive conversations."
Led by Iris Roley, the Black United Front and a group called Leaders of the Free World presented recommendations crafted after six weeks of zoom calls spent gathering public input. They put together a list of 159 recommendations for improving police-community relations, including adding empathy to CPD's core values, making a bachelor's degree and social work certification a requirement for officers and increasing data availability and police metrics for the public.
"The Cincinnati Black United Front has stood ready and stands ready to continue working for public safety reforms," said Roley.
Isaac said data is also a priority for him and agreed that is a factor in need of improvement. All agreed that dialogue and transparency need to continue in a collaborative manner.
"We've made a lot of strides. There's still a lot of opportunity to do more," said Isaac. "I think we're positioned to do that."
Discussions will continue to happen between the groups as the city looks through more of the recommendations presented Tuesday. There is also an annual process where stakeholders can give feedback that helps shape the focus and policy of the Collaborative Agreement.
