Selection and Role of the Independent Monitor

Under the terms of the City of Baltimore Consent Decree, an Independent Monitor (“Monitor”) will be appointed by the Court in order to assist the Court in determining when the terms of the Consent Decree have been implemented.  The Monitor team will include individuals with expertise in policing, civil rights, monitoring, data analysis, project management, and related areas, as well as local experience and expertise with the diverse communities of Baltimore.  The Monitor is charged to assess and report on whether the requirements of the Consent Decree have been implemented and to actively provide Technical Assistance to the City and the BPD in order to achieve compliance.

The Monitor is being selected pursuant to a process jointly established by the City, BPD and DOJ.  See the Request for Application (“RFA”). The RFA specifies the criteria upon which the selection for the Monitor shall be made, including: each team member’s experience and qualification to perform the tasks outlined in the Consent Decree; the ability to work collaboratively with BPD, the City and DOJ to enable the City and BPD to reach compliance; and the ability to do so in a cost effective manner. 

The RFA garnered 26 responses by the June 8, 2017 deadline for applying to be Monitor. 

The City, BPD and DOJ have jointly selected six applicant teams to interview for the role of Independent Monitor (in alphabetical order):

• CNA Consulting
• DLA Piper
• Exiger
• Powers Consulting Group
• Susan Burke
• Venable LLP

After conducting preliminary interviews, the City, BPD and DOJ jointly selected the following Finalist Applicants (in alphabetical order):

• CNA Consulting
• Exiger
• Powers Consulting Group
• Venable LLP

On September 15, 2017, the City and BPD together with DOJ jointly recommended to the Court an Independent Monitor team composed of members of the Exiger/21st Century Policing team, members of the Venable LLP team, and the Community Mediation Program, Inc. (also known as Baltimore Community Mediation Center).  The combined team has significant expertise in protecting civil and constitutional rights, knowledge of police practices and the challenges that police officers and departments face,  a track record of success in achieving institutional reform within police departments, and local experience and expertise with the diverse communities of Baltimore. The City, BPD, and DOJ agree the proposed team is the most qualified candidate to serve as the Independent Monitor overseeing the BPD and the City’s implementation of the Consent Decree. The Court will make the final decision of whether to appoint the recommended team as the Independent Monitor.

Monitor Applications

The Monitor Applications are available here.  Members of the public are invited to review and submit written comments and recommendations on the Applications (Click here to view the Monitor Application notice).

Members of the public can submit written comments either via email here or mailed them to the address below: 

Puneet Cheema
United States Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division, Special Litigation Section
950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC  20530

To ensure full consideration by the Parties, submissions should be made no later than July 17, 2017.  Email submissions are encouraged. 

The Parties will compile the public submissions, forward them to the Court, and publish them on the websites of the DOJ, the BPD, and the City.  The Parties will not forward or post submissions that contain irrelevant, threatening, or inflammatory material, or any submissions that reveal confidential information.      

View public comments and recommendations on the Monitor Applications here.

Public Meetings

The Finalist Applicants have been invited to participate in two public forums with community members on August 15 and 16. Members of the public are invited to submit written questions for the Finalist Applicants. To ensure full consideration, submissions should be made no later than August 13, 2017, at the email or mailing address above. Email submissions are encouraged.

View the Public questions for the Finalist Applicants here.

The Finalist Applicants have provided the following answers to these public questions.

• CNA Consulting
• Exiger
• Powers Consulting Group
• Venable LLP

Monitor's Term

The Court will appoint the Monitor for an initial period of almost three years, subject to an evaluation by the Court to determine whether to renew the Monitor’s appointment until the Termination of the Decree or for another two years, whichever happens first.

Monitor Implementation Timeline

• June 8, 2017: Monitor Team Applications due
• June 16, 2017: Monitor Team Applications posted for public review and comment
• July 17, 2017: Deadline for the Public to submit comments on the Monitor Applications
• July 21, 2017: Six Applicants Invited for Interviews
• August 8, 2017: Finalist Applicants Identified
• August 13, 2017: Deadline for the public to submit written questions to ask Finalist Applicants
• August 15 & 16, 2017: Public Meetings (two) in which Finalist Applicants have the opportunity to answer the public’s written questions (Morgan State University and Baltimore City Community College)
• September 15, 2017: City and BPD together with DOJ make monitor recommendation to the Court*

* After extensive consultation between the parties, and between the parties and the Court during recent telephone status conferences, the parties conclude that none of the finalist teams have all of the appropriate experience and expertise for each of the key aspects of a successful monitorship of the Consent Decree. Accepting the Court's recent suggestion made in light of this circumstance, the parties now plan to propose to combine some of the members of two highly qualified finalist teams into a single, combined proposed team. Additionally, the parties believe it is necessary to enhance the community engagement capability of the combined proposed team, a task that has not yet been completed. The parties have been working diligently on this process and believe that they will be able to submit the best possible Monitor candidate for the Court’s approval on September 15, 2017.

All timeline items will occur concurrently with the Mayor appointing members to the Civilian Oversight Task Force (COTF) and the Baltimore City Police Department's actions to implement the reforms delineated in the Consent Decree.