The consent decree agreed to by the union involved creating a team of investigators and a judicial panel, the Independent Review Board, to monitor the union closely and to expel members and officials involved with organized crime.
Natashia Tidwell, the court-appointed monitor overseeing the implementation of the consent decree, agreed that Ferguson had made progress on municipal court reform, calling the new municipal judge a "breath of fresh air" who obviously had "empathy" for the individuals appearing before him.
Consent decrees agreed with other police forces in the US in recent years have detailed new training requirements for officers or established tighter internal regulations on the use of force.
From the start of Obama's first term in 2009 to the conclusion of his second term this year, 14 police departments — including Seattle Clevelandd; Ferguson, Missouri; and Puerto Rico ― agreed to consent decrees.
KPMG agreed to a consent decree without admitting or denying it had violated the rule.
In the end, it agreed to a presidential decree stating that all civil servants must remain neutral during the elections.
In Japan, Intel agreed in a consent decree in 2005 to modify its practices, without admitting wrongdoing.
In 1992, Mayor David N. Dinkins agreed to a consent decree obligating the city to substantially eliminate the overflows by constructing eight large catch-basins.
In 2003, a federal judge, Charles S. Haight Jr., agreed to modify the decree, which had restricted the Police Department's ability to conduct surveillance of political groups.
The police chief, Bernard C. Parks, and his principal ally, Mayor Richard J. Riordan, have resisted some of the efforts, and only reluctantly agreed to the consent decree.
