Board of Trustees' Resolution

The University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees approved a resolution on Safety and Reform in 2015 in order to create the Office of Safety and Reform.

The university's safety and reform agenda is guided by the following six principles developed in collaboration with the Community Advisory Council:

• Transparency
• Legitimacy
• Accountability
• Fairness
• Collaboration
• Innovation

The full resolution is below.

WHEREAS, the University of Cincinnati is committed to creating a campus environment that promotes safety and well-being via service-driven, problem-oriented policing; and

WHEREAS, the University’s goal is to engage in fair and impartial policing, to enhance community trust and, ultimately, to create a national model for excellence in urban campus law enforcement; and

WHEREAS, the University created an Office of Safety and Reform, led by a vice president who is a recognized expert in the field, to actively manage its safety and reform agenda; and

WHEREAS, the University’s safety and reform agenda will be guided by the following six principles developed in collaboration with the Community Advisory Council:

I. TRANSPARENCY

Confidence in policing is based on transparency. The UCPD’s policies, procedures and practices must withstand public scrutiny. The UCPD will be transparent, with openness and accountability to the public. All information and data gathered regarding the UCPD’s policies, procedures and practices will be made available to thepublic, unless prohibited by law.

II. LEGITIMACY

Legitimacy is the foundation of policing. To promote legitimacy, the UCPD must demonstrate that officers’ actions comply with constitutional and professional standards and are procedurally just. To enhance legitimacy, the UCPD personnel must sufficiently reflect the diverse population that it serves. Initiatives that encourage and track the recruitment, hiring, promotion and retention of qualified minority candidates will be developed and implemented. Based on these strategic efforts, the UCPD will create a culture of excellence through equity and inclusion.

III. ACCOUNTABILITY

Accountability mechanisms—both internal and external to the UCPD—will be developed and implemented based on best practices and guided by community expectations. Any deviation from established professional and legal standards will be investigated appropriately and, if necessary, disciplinary action will follow. Additionally, citizen review of police accountability will be developed and implemented.

IV. FAIRNESS

To achieve the UCPD’s goal of treating all citizens with dignity and respect, officers’ actions will be based on applied legal principles, facts of an incident and input from all involved during police-citizen encounters—regardless of the individuals’ race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, citizenship status or other differences. To this end, the UCPD will develop and enact policies, procedures and training that promote fair and impartial policing.

V. COLLABORATION

The UCPD will collaborate with internal and external stakeholders to further enhance openness, equity and inclusion. These stakeholders will have multiple avenues to impact decision making and provide external review. The UCPD will strive to rebuild community trust via collaboration and engagement.

VI. INNOVATION

The UCPD will be strategic and tactical in the implementation of evidence-based and data-driven practices. Problem solving and community-oriented policing will be used as guiding principles for all strategies, including for reducing crime and disorder as well as for handling internal operations. State-of-the-art training and technology will serve as the foundation for the development and sustainability of these innovative policing efforts.

WHEREAS, these safety and reform efforts will be grounded in foundational research and resources such as: i) The Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015); ii) The Federal Collaborative Agreement with Cincinnati, Ohio (2002); iii) The Exiger Final Report for the Comprehensive Review of the University of Cincinnati Police Department (2016); iv) The Kroll Report on the Review and Investigation of Officer Tensing’s Use of Deadly Force on July 19, 2015 (2015); and v) An on-going review of nationally recognized policing and academic research; and

WHEREAS, the University will hire a qualified team of experts to serve as an Independent Monitor of UCPD and its efforts to implement relevant recommendations from The Exiger Final Report for the Comprehensive Review of the University of Cincinnati Police Department; and

WHEREAS, the University’s senior leadership team and Board of Trustees will receive regular updates and progress reports, in verbal and written forms, from both the Vice President for Safety and Reform and the Independent Monitor.

THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the Board of Trustees endorses the University’s safety and reform agenda, including the commitment to enhanced training, inclusive excellence and independent monitoring, with the goal of establishing a robust and sustained culture of transparency, legitimacy, fairness, collaboration and innovation within the UCPD.