About Cleveland Division of Police

Cleveland Division of Police (CDP) is the second-largest law enforcement agency in the state of Ohio, with over 1600 full-time sworn police officers and 230 civilian personnel.

Motto: “To Protect and Serve”

History: Founded in 1866, Cleveland Police Department has a long history and a proud legacy – having been served by the likes of the legendary law enforcement officer, Eliot Ness.  The division became a tax-funded law enforcement agency in 1871 and is known to have the oldest functioning mounted patrol unit in the United States. CPD was also the first police department to have caught a bank robbery using surveillance cameras and the first division to convict a criminal with the aid of a palm print found at the scene of crime. Since its founding, 108 officers have lost their lives in the line of duty.

Size: The jurisdiction of CPD extends over an area of just under 83 square miles, in which a population of just over 380,000 people resides.

Headquarters: 1300 Ontario St. Cleveland, Ohio 44113.

Divisions: There are 3 major bureaus in Cleveland Police Division: administrative operations – that deals with allocation of finances, logistics, training of new recruits and maintaining records; fields operations – that carry out patrolling in the city’s 5 districts; homeland special operations – carry out criminal investigations, overlooks functioning of specialized units and the intelligence section.

How to become an officer: At present, candidates are required to take a test known as the City of Cleveland Civil Service written examination. The application for this test is done online through the NEOGOV online portal. Candidates who successfully pass the test will then be allowed to take the physical agility test (PAT). This is followed by a personal history questionnaire, a thorough background check, a medical evaluation, and a psychological evaluation.

Average salary: $51,700-$53,000 annually, rising with experience and responsibility.

Police academy: Once candidates pass all the required tests and complete the selection process, they join the Cleveland Police Academy for a 6-month intensive training program. This includes classroom sessions that teach basic law enforcement principles and best practices and field training to impart job skills, such as firearms, operation of patrol vehicles, etc., to new recruits. Candidates are expected to maintain a minimum score of 70% throughout the training program and pass a written examination from the State of Ohio, a firearms examination and a physical test.

Registration: Further information on the Cleveland Division of Police exam can be found on their website. Cleveland only recruits personnel when the necessity arises. Therefore, competition for places is very high and CPD ensures that only the best applicants attend the academy.