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Cleveland working to implement civilian police oversight measure

A close-up of the logo for the Cleveland Police Department.
A close-up of the logo for the Cleveland Police Department.

The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, energized activists seeking to implement greater oversight over police departments and increase transparency. Last week, Akron voters became the latest to approve a charter measure on policing.  Voters there passed Issue 10 creating a civilian police oversight board.  The vote came just months after the police shooting death of Jayland Walker. Akron' city council must now work to implement the change approved by voters. Cleveland voters passed a similar measure in 2021, known on the ballot as Issue 24.  That measure gives a lot of power to civilians including a 13-member Community Police Commission that will oversee a civilian police review board. But more than a year after Issue 24's passage, Cleveland is still working to fill the seats on the commission. Ideastream Public Media's criminal justice reporter, Matt Richmond is with us for an update.

Later in the program, Keri Blakinger always lived life with a higher intensity than most. Growing up, that meant throwing herself into competitive figure skating with an all-consuming passion that led her to national acclaim. But when her skating career suddenly fell apart, that was replaced with self destructive behavior, and eventual drug addiction. That addiction led to an eventual arrest and jail time. But when she got out of prison, she re-aligned her life and became a journalist.

That long and painful road is chronicled in Blakinger's new book "Corrections In Ink", and it follows her to what is now an award winning stint at The Marshall Project, covering criminal justice.

Ideastream's Justin Glanville sat down with Blankinger recently to discuss her life, and the new book...


  • Matt Richmond, Criminal Justice Reporter Ideastream Public Media
  • Keri Blakinger, Author, "Corrections in Ink":
Leigh Barr is a coordinating producer for the "Sound of Ideas" and the "Sound of Ideas Reporters Roundtable."