Cincinnati police officials continue to debate some policy changes with the U.S. Department of Justice, while hope has faded that the department will quickly get all the funding requested to help pay for police reform.

        The Cincinnati Police Department's first report on its progress toward complying with the more than 100 new policing, disciplinary and community relations procedures shows the agency has met initial compliance with most.

        Many procedural changes, however, still must be taught to the department's more than 1,000 officers and approved by the community. The process by which the latter will happen is still being planned, said S. Gregory Baker, the city's compliance coordinator.

        The sticking points continue to be how the department uses its dogs, and how it tracks and disciplines officers for their behavior — two things the Justice Department asked to see early, before the report was due Monday, to review them, Mr. Baker said.

        Policies regarding those things are still missing from the document, pending Justice approval — meaning federal and local officials have not yet agreed upon the topics. Both the canine policy and discipline “matrix” have been key issues since talks began more than a year ago after an April 2001 police shooting and subsequent riots prompted Mayor Charlie Luken to invite the federal inquiry.

        Also not resolved is how much money, if any, Justice will help secure to pay for the changes. The city asked the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Assistance in June for $12 million for upgraded computer systems and other technical help to record things such as complaints, injuries, firearm use and other information about officers. What the city might get is $2 million, which has been approved by the Senate and awaits a decision by the House.

        Mr. Baker said the city might have to ask Congress for more money in future years.

        “We could get none and still have to do it,” he said. “So $2 million is better than nothing.”

        The report — a 2-inch thick binder — was required by the agreement signed in April by the city and Attorney General John Ashcroft, which ended a yearlong civil rights investigation into the Police Department's patterns and practices. The reports are supposed to go to an independent monitor under the supervision of U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott. But the parties have not agreed upon a monitor — their deadline to do so is Sept. 9 — so the department sent the report to the Justice Department instead.

        City Manager Valerie Lemmie said she knew the general categories over which the city and Justice continue to have differences, but she did not know details.

        Justice officials did not return phone calls Tuesday to explain how much money they might be able to help get or what their problems are with the way Cincinnati has written the policies in question.

        Some local officials continue to be hesitant to discuss the issues, saying they still fear they'll anger the Justice Department and set the debate back further.

        Mr. Baker said the department has changed its disciplinary plan to adopt a progressive system, in which an officer's punishment gets gradually harsher for subsequent incidents, rather than being disciplined individually for each offense.

        “They told us to do it,” he said, “and we did it. But the discussions are ongoing.”

        Roger Webster, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, said the union had some issues with the discipline plan, too — chiefly that officers should be compared with others on the same shift in the same district, rather than with the department as a whole.

        “It's more fair to all the cops that way,” he said, “rather than to say, "You have 10 macings, you're a problem child.' Somebody on third shift in District 1 is probably going to mace people a lot more often than someone who works first shift in District 2.”

        He said some of the Justice recommendations regarding canine use conflicted with standards set by the Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy, which is run through the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

        As for the many policies the department says are ready except for training, Mr. Baker said it will take time to explain the new procedures to everyone on the force. That will be done with daily trainings at roll calls. Supervisors already have been trained.

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