Compliance Over Time Monitorable Paragraphs from the Section: Professionalization

Number of Section's Paragraphs by Compliance Rating per Report Total of 10 paragraphs in this section: CMR - Report of the Federal Monitor

This chart, titled "Compliance Over Time – Monitorable Paragraphs from the Section Professionalization", visualizes the number of paragraphs (out of a total of 10) assigned each compliance rating using recent Federal Monitor Reports (CMRs) as data sources. The horizontal stacked bars represent different compliance categories for each period. The x-axis of the chart represents the number of paragraphs (0–10), and the y-axis lists the reports. All bars are stacked to show the cumulative number of paragraphs rated by compliance level for each report.

The compliance levels on the pie charts are represented by the following colors:

  • Fully Compliant – Dark Blue
  • Substantially Compliant – Medium Blue
  • Partially Compliant – Light Blue
  • Deferred – Gray
  • Not Assessed – Light Gray
  • Not Compliant – Periwinkle

Details for each reporting period:

  • CMR 8 - Eighth Report of the Federal Monitor, June 2023, covering the period from October 2022 through March 2023
    Fully Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Substantially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Partially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Deferred: 0 paragraphs
    Not Assessed: 10 paragraphs (100%)
    Not Compliant: 0 paragraphs
  • CMR 9 - Ninth Report of the Federal Monitor, December 2023, covering the period from April 2023 through September 2023
    Fully Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Substantially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Partially Compliant: 10 paragraphs (100%)
    Deferred: 0 paragraphs
    Not Assessed: 0 paragraphs
    Not Compliant: 0 paragraphs
  • CMR 10 - Tenth Report of the Federal Monitor, June 2024, covering the period from October 2023 through March 2024
    Fully Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Substantially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Partially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Deferred: 0 paragraphs
    Not Assessed: 10 paragraphs (100%)
    Not Compliant: 0 paragraphs
  • CMR 11 - Eleventh Report of the Federal Monitor, December 2024, covering the period from April 2024 through September 2024
    Fully Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Substantially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Partially Compliant: 10 paragraphs (100%)
    Deferred: 0 paragraphs
    Not Assessed: 0 paragraphs
    Not Compliant: 0 paragraphs
  • CMR 12 - Twelfth Report of the Federal Monitor, June 2025, covering the period from October 2024 through March 2025
    Fully Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Substantially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Partially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Deferred: 0 paragraphs
    Not Assessed: 10 paragraphs (100%)
    Not Compliant: 0 paragraphs
  • CMR 13 - Thirteenth Report of the Federal Monitor, December 2025, covering the period from April 2025 through September 2025
    Fully Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Substantially Compliant: 0 paragraphs
    Partially Compliant: 10 paragraphs (100%)
    Deferred: 0 paragraphs
    Not Assessed: 0 paragraphs
    Not Compliant: 0 paragraphs

Excerpt From Executive Summary

Section 1: Professionalization

The Monitor's Office concludes that the Commonwealth has maintained the same level of compliance in the area of Professionalization as observed in the previous assessment (CMR-11). The development of policies for promotions, staffing, career development, performance evaluations, recruitment, and integrity audits have been completed or are in progress. Those policies that have been implemented and/or recently finalized incorporate the requirements of the Agreement.

In-service training—both in-person and virtual—continues throughout 2025. To ensure that training aligns with departmental needs and the Agreement, the Commonwealth, in collaboration with V2A Consulting, has completed a Training Needs Assessment, which was approved by the Monitor's Office in September 2025.

This CMR does not include a detailed assessment of Recruitment, Retention, and Hiring, as these areas are reviewed annually and were most recently evaluated in CMR-12. Nonetheless, PRP's ongoing recruitment efforts remain critical to addressing its staffing challenges—an issue faced by many law enforcement agencies nationwide. Contributing factors also include an aging workforce and overall personnel shortages. As part of its Staffing Plan, PRP has re-assigned personnel to better address these challenges and has appointed additional project managers to support compliance and sustain reform initiatives. These actions represent promising steps toward strengthening PRP's overall professional capacity.

In September 2024, the Monitor's Office and the PRP met with representatives from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA) to learn about the accreditation process and its requirements. Following the meeting, CALEA provided PRP with detailed information on accreditation standards, and a metropolitan law enforcement agency with long-standing CALEA accreditation shared insights from its experience. PRP is currently evaluating its interest in pursuing accreditation. Updated information will be provided in CMR-15.

Throughout this reporting period, the Monitor's Office has continued regular engagement with PRP personnel, including staff from Human Resources, the Promotion Board, and others, as well as interviews with a sample of officers. Based on the information reviewed, the Monitor's Office finds that PRP remains partially compliant with the paragraphs in this section of the Agreement.

Overall, the Commonwealth's compliance with the 10 paragraphs assessed during this reporting period within Professionalization reflects the same levels of compliance as what was noted in previous reports. In CMR-11, all paragraphs were assessed as partially compliant. This holds true for CMR-13.

Source

This executive summary provides an overview of the Monitor’s Office’s compliance assessment for this section of the Agreement and is an excerpt from Executive Summary for the Thirteenth Report of the Federal Monitor, December 2025, covering the period from April 2025 through September 2025 (CMR 13). For more information on the compliance assessment, please see the full report.

Most Recent Compliance Rating by Paragraph Section 1: Professionalization

Filter by Compliance Level
Paragraph 12 Text of the Paragraph 12:
PRPD shall develop processes and mechanisms that promote professional, ethical, and respectful policing services to effectively address Puerto Rico’s public safety challenges; consistently and uniformly apply constitutional police practices; build public confidence; and strengthen its institutional structures.  PRPD shall promote continuous performance improvement among all PRPD personnel that regularly identifies problems or challenges, assesses causal or contributing factors, and takes reasonable measures to achieve performance expectations in areas related to this Agreement.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 13 Text of the Paragraph 13:
PRPD shall assess the appropriate number of sworn and civilian personnel to perform the different department functions necessary to fulfill its mission. To do so, PRPD shall conduct a staffing allocation and resource study. The study shall form the basis for a staffing and resource allocation plan that is consistent with community-oriented policing principles and supports the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques. To foster community-oriented policing, the plan shall consider deployment practices that offer officers opportunities to serve the communities in which they reside.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 14 Text of the Paragraph 14:
PRPD’s promotion practices shall be merit-based and comply with equal opportunity employment principles.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 15 Text of the Paragraph 15:
PRPD shall publish detailed job descriptions for each rank among sworn personnel, specifying the duties, responsibilities, and minimum qualifications for each position. PRPD shall develop the job descriptions in consultation with the TCA based on generally accepted policing practices.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 16 Text of the Paragraph 16:
PRPD shall ensure that its supervisor selection process is lawful, fair, and consistent with generally accepted policing practices and anti-discrimination laws. PRPD shall develop objective selection criteria to ensure promotions are based on knowledge, skills, and abilities that are required to perform supervisory and management duties successfully in core substantive areas. PRPD shall provide clear guidance on promotional criteria, and prioritize effective, ethical, and community-oriented policing as criteria for promotion. These criteria should account for experience, civil rights and discipline record, training, and skills.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 17 Text of the Paragraph 17:
PRPD shall utilize competitive written examinations as a component of the selection process to award promotions through the rank of Captain. Written promotion examinations shall conform to generally-accepted professional standards for test validity and security and be designed to evaluate qualifications that are job related and consistent with business necessity. PRPD shall develop these examinations in consultation with the TCA based on generally accepted policing practices and in compliance with anti-discrimination laws.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 18 Text of the Paragraph 18:
All appointments to ranks above Captain shall be based on objective criteria that account for the knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform core management, supervisory, and leadership duties.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 19 Text of the Paragraph 19:
PRPD shall establish procedures that govern the removal of officers from consideration for promotion for disciplinary action related to serious misconduct.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 20 Text of the Paragraph 20:
PRPD shall establish specific criteria for the promotion of officers in direct supervisory roles. Officers in supervisory roles shall not be rendered ineligible for promotion based solely on the number of civilian complaints filed against officers under their supervision. The nature and type of civilian complaints, particularly those complaints that are investigated and substantiated by evidence, shall also be weighed when considering an officer for promotion. Promotions of officers with pending investigations or disciplinary action in a matter alleging serious misconduct shall be held in abeyance until the investigation or disciplinary action is resolved.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

Paragraph 21 Text of the Paragraph 21:
PRPD shall provide a developmental career path for officers aspiring to the command ranks that emphasizes leadership, ethics, community-oriented policing, educational achievement, and constitutional policing.
Current Rating:
Partially Compliant

Rating Source:

Assessment as of: CMR 13, Dec 2025

Reporting period: Apr 2025 – Sep 2025

-0-

No paragraphs in this section match the selected compliance level.

Methodology and Compliance Levels

In agreement with the approved methodology, the Monitoring Team uses a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, including site visits, to assess PRPB’s compliance. The Federal Monitor provides an assessment of the compliance status of PRPB’s policies and practices with respect to the paragraphs in the Consent Decree. The compliance rating labels are applied across multiple charts and tables to provide a consistent summary of compliance status and are defined as follows:

Fully Compliant: The PRPB has objectively demonstrated extensive compliance with the cited portion of the Agreement for a period of more than two years.

Substantially Compliant: The PRPB has objectively demonstrated extensive compliance with the cited portion of the Agreement for a period of less than two years.

Partially Compliant: The PRPB has objectively demonstrated a sub-optimal level of compliance with the cited portion of the Agreement.

Deferred: The Monitoring Team has not received sufficient evidence to reach a determination as to compliance status with the cited portion of the Agreement.

Not Assessed: The paragraph was not evaluated during a reporting period. Certain paragraphs are assessed annually following the structured assessment schedule based on the approved methodology.

Not Compliant: The PRPB has not objectively demonstrated compliance with the cited portion of the Agreement.