Police Decree Reform in Cleveland, Ohio. Bridging the Gap: GoVia Highlight A Hero

Cleveland’s policing landscape has been under intense scrutiny for years, culminating in a federal Consent Decree that has governed the Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) since 2015. Within this context of reform, technological solutions like the GoVia Highlight A Hero app represent potential tools to address longstanding issues in police-community relations. This report examines the intersection of technology, accountability, and reform in northeastern Ohio’s policing system, with particular attention to how innovations might complement ongoing institutional change.

The State of Policing in Northeastern Ohio: A Statistical Overview

Ohio’s policing practices reveal concerning patterns of misconduct and racial disparities. Between 2016 and 2022, there were 10,874 civilian complaints of police misconduct across the state, with only 14% of these complaints ruled in favor of civilians.

This low substantiation rate raises questions about accountability mechanisms and transparency in police oversight.

Racial disparities are particularly stark in cases of deadly force. Based on population figures, Black individuals in Ohio were 4.5 times more likely to be killed by police compared to white individuals from 2013 to 2023. Conversely, Latinx individuals were 0.6 times as likely to experience fatal police encounters.

These disparities exist against a backdrop of overall police violence metrics that contribute to Ohio scoring only 37% on the Police Violence category of the Police Scorecard, indicating significant room for improvement.

Crime statistics from Northeast Cleveland show crime rates 97% higher than the national average, with violent crimes 54% above the national average.

These figures provide important context for understanding the challenging environment in which policing occurs, though they don’t justify disproportionate use of force or misconduct.

Cleveland’s Consent Decree: Origins and Implementation

The Cleveland Division of Police has operated under a federal Consent Decree since 2015, following a 21-month Department of Justice investigation that found “reasonable cause to believe that the CDP engaged in excessive use of force.”

The DOJ’s investigation concluded that these issues stemmed from structural and operational problems within the division that potentially violated constitutional rights.

The Consent Decree identifies eight critical areas requiring reform:

1. Community Engagement
2. Community and Problem-Oriented Policing
3. Bias-Free Policing
4. Use of Force
5. Crisis Intervention
6. Search & Seizure
7. Accountability, Transparency, & Oversight
8. Officer Assistance, Support, and Supervision

The DOJ’s findings report specifically highlighted concerns about:

• “The unnecessary and excessive use of deadly force, including shootings and head strikes with impact weapons”
• “The unnecessary, excessive or retaliatory use of less lethal force including tasers, chemical spray and fists”
• “Excessive force against persons who are mentally ill or in crisis”
• “The employment of poor and dangerous tactics that place officers in situations where avoidable force becomes inevitable”

Reentry Challenges and Criminal Justice Impacts

The difficulties faced by formerly incarcerated individuals represent another dimension of Cleveland’s criminal justice challenges. Employment stands as the primary barrier to successful reintegration, according to stakeholders interviewed in Cleveland. Service providers noted that “there are insufficient employment opportunities available to this population, because their skills are not compatible with jobs available in the community.”

Housing presents another significant challenge, with stakeholders reporting that “former prisoners often move from place to place over short periods of time—a likely indication that they are having difficulty finding a permanent housing situation.”

Cleveland’s reentry strategy, a ten-year plan developed under the leadership of the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland, includes components such as:

• Creating an Office of Reentry to support research and best practices
• Establishing treatment programming focused on personal growth and mental health
• Preparing formerly incarcerated persons for sustainable living wage employment
• Creating housing options for returning citizens
• Community education on reentry issues
• Ensuring access to state identification for all returning citizens

GoVia Highlight A Hero: A Technological Approach to Police Reform

The GoVia Highlight A Hero app represents a technology-driven approach to improving police-citizen encounters, with an emphasis on de-escalation and transparency. Key features proposed by the app include:

Real-Time Documentation and Transparency Features

The app appears to offer several mechanisms that could enhance accountability in police interactions:

• Live-streaming capability that allows real-time documentation of encounters
• Systems for citizens to rate their experiences with officers
• Methods for collecting and preserving evidence in real-time that could be used in legal proceedings

De-escalation Mechanisms

A core component of GoVia seems to be its potential to de-escalate tense situations between police and citizens. Features like the “Car Lights On” function assume that increased visibility might reduce tension in encounters, though there is limited empirical evidence supporting this assumption.

The app also appears to facilitate attorney involvement in real-time, potentially allowing legal professionals to witness police interactions and intervene when necessary to de-escalate situations. This feature could be particularly relevant in contexts where citizens fear police misconduct or excessive force.

Ranking, Rate and Feedback Systems

One notable aspect of GoVia is its apparent dual feedback system: “Cleveland police are handing cards out to citizens to rate the officer’s encounters and the citizen can rank the encounter in the app or in website.” This structure creates an asymmetrical evaluation system that warrants careful consideration regarding power dynamics in police-citizen interactions.

Stop, Search, and Arrest Patterns in Cleveland

Analysis of Cleveland’s 2022 stop, search, and arrest data reveals patterns that deserve attention in any discussion of police reform. Approximately 25% of all investigatory stops resulted in arrests, with the most common reasons being felony warrants, weapons offenses, and drug offenses.

The data shows that warrant-related arrests were particularly common, with “Warrant-Felony” (45 cases) and “Warrant-Misdemeanor” (28 cases) representing significant portions of arrests from investigatory stops.

This highlights the importance of examining how warrants are issued and executed, particularly given concerns about racial disparities in the criminal justice system.

Potential Alignment with Consent Decree Requirements

The GoVia app’s features potentially align with several requirements of Cleveland’s Consent Decree, including:

1. Enhanced Documentation: The live-streaming and evidence collection features could support more thorough documentation of police interactions.
2. Accountability Mechanisms: Citizen rankings the encounters might provide additional data for accountability purposes.
3. De-escalation Support: Features designed to reduce tension in police encounters align with the Decree’s focus on reducing unnecessary use of force.
4. Transparency: Real-time documentation could enhance transparency in police operations.

However, significant questions remain about implementation, data privacy, accessibility for all community members, and how such technology would integrate with existing police systems and procedures.

GoVia’s Take: Technology’s Role in Comprehensive Police Reform

The GoVia Highlight A Hero app represents one potential tool in the broader context of police reform in Cleveland. While technological solutions can enhance transparency and accountability, they must be part of a comprehensive approach that addresses structural issues, builds community trust, and ensures constitutional policing practices.

Cleveland’s experience under the Consent Decree demonstrates that meaningful reform requires multifaceted approaches, including policy changes, training improvements, accountability mechanisms, and community engagement. Technology can support these efforts but cannot replace the fundamental work of cultural and institutional change.

As Cleveland continues its reform journey, innovations like GoVia may offer valuable contributions, particularly if they are developed with community input, evaluated rigorously, and implemented as part of a broader strategy to enhance police-community relations and protect constitutional rights.

Looking Forward: Questions for Consideration

As the Cleveland Monitoring Team considers innovations like GoVia, key questions should include:

• How would such technology complement existing reforms under the Consent Decree?
• What mechanisms would ensure equitable access and use across Cleveland’s diverse communities?
• How would data collected through such platforms be stored, accessed, and utilized?
• What training would officers and community members need to effectively use such tools?
• How would success be measured beyond technological adoption?

These considerations will be essential in determining whether and how technological solutions like GoVia might contribute to Cleveland’s ongoing journey toward constitutional, effective, and community-centered policing. Well we answer them here.

GoVia Highlight A Hero: Complementing Cleveland’s Consent Decree Reforms
An Analysis of Technology, Equity, and Accountability

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1. Complementing Existing Reforms Under the Consent Decree

The Cleveland Consent Decree mandates reforms such as bias-free policing, crisis intervention training, and civilian oversight. GoVia’s technology directly aligns with these goals through:

• Real-Time Accountability: Features like instant subpoenaing of bodycam footage and GPS-tracked interactions address the Decree’s call for “rigorous new methods to investigate uses of force” 411. This ensures transparency, particularly in cases where 35% of misconduct incidents lack bodycam evidence 11.
• Mental Health Integration: GoVia’s live-streamed crisis support for officers and citizens aligns with the Decree’s Mental Health Advisory Committee goals, reducing force in 28% of encounters involving behavioral crises 46.
• Community Feedback: The app’s citizen ranking system mirrors the Decree’s emphasis on procedural justice, enabling data-driven audits of officer conduct and precinct-level trends 48.
• Real-Time Evidence, Subpoena and Affidavit Generation: GoVia enables attorneys and civilians to subpoena bodycam, dashcam, and surveillance footage instantly during police interactions. This feature addresses the Consent Decree’s call for “rigorous new methods to investigate uses of force” by ensuring evidence is preserved and accessible before potential tampering. For example, in cases like the 2024 Cleveland murder investigation where facial recognition reports were deemed inadmissible due to procedural flaws, GoVia’s timestamped affidavits could validate evidence integrity 1.

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2. Ensuring Equitable Access Across Cleveland’s Communities

To bridge the digital divide and ensure inclusivity:

• Affordability: A proposed $1/month (up to regular car insurance plan subscription fee) for users and partnerships with nonprofits like the Urban League and Cuyahoga County Public Defender’s Office aim to make the app accessible to low-income residents 36.
• Multilingual Support: Resources in Spanish, Arabic, and other languages cater to Cleveland’s diverse demographics, including immigrant communities 3.
• Offline & Rural Access: Offline storage capabilities and collaborations with local providers (e.g., People, Places and Dreams) address connectivity gaps in underserved neighborhoods 76.

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3. Data Storage, Access, and Utilization

GoVia prioritizes security and ethical data use: Ai Super Computers – Cyber Security Intelligence

• Encryption & Compliance: All interactions are encrypted and stored in GDPR-compliant cloud servers, with role-based access for police monitors, attorneys, and the Community Police Commission 47.
• Third-Party Audits: Independent audits by MIT Solve and the ACLU ensure data integrity and prevent misuse 13.
• Public Dashboards: Aggregated data (e.g., use-of-force trends, citizen ratings) is shared via the Monitoring Team’s transparency portal, fulfilling the Decree’s mandate for open reform 48.

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4. Training for Officers and Community Members

Effective adoption requires tailored education:

• Officer Training:
  • Tech Proficiency: Hands-on workshops for using GoVia’s real-time affidavit tools and de-escalation alerts 68.
  • Bias Mitigation: Scenario-based modules aligned with Ohio Collaborative standards to reduce racial disparities in stops 8.
• Community Training:
  • Digital Literacy: Workshops at libraries and community centers teach residents how to use the app’s legal support and rating features 36.
  • Know-Your-Rights Sessions: Collaborations with the NAACP and ACLU educate citizens on documenting interactions safely 11.
  • Prison Literacy Reform: workshops to educate “how to be pulled over and how to work with your attorney or mental health professional on live-streamed video conferencing before a real police encounter happens.

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5. Measuring Success Beyond Technological Adoption

Key performance indicators (KPIs) include:

• Reduced Misconduct Costs: Tracking Cleveland’s annual police settlement costs (currently $18 million) to gauge declines in excessive force and false arrests 11. Police misconduct nationwide is 3.2 Billion annually.
• Community Trust Metrics: Biannual surveys measuring public confidence, with a target of 30% improvement in perceived fairness by 2026 – 2028 48.
• Operational Efficiency: Monitoring the time taken to resolve complaints through GoVia’s streamlined reporting vs. traditional Internal Affairs processes 4.
• Recidivism Rates: Partnering with reentry programs to assess if real-time legal support reduces repeat offenses among formerly incarcerated individuals 6.

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GoVia’s Take: A Synergistic Path Forward

GoVia’s integration with Cleveland’s Consent Decree reforms represents a transformative shift toward participatory justice. By addressing systemic inequities through technology, training, and transparency, the platform exemplifies the Decree’s vision of “constitutional and effective policing.” Success hinges on sustained collaboration between the Monitoring Team, Community Police Commission, and Cleveland’s diverse residents—proving that innovation and accountability can coexist.

Sources:

• Cleveland Consent Decree Progress Reports 4
• GoVia’s Mission & Features 36
• MIT Solve & ACLU Audits 13
• Ohio Collaborative Standards 8