This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Baltimore • More than a year and a half after the Justice Department launched an investigation into discriminatory policing practices in Baltimore, the city's police department on Thursday agreed to a set of sweeping, court-enforceable reforms designed to repair the systemic problems that have long plagued the agency.

The Justice Department agreement mandates changes in the most fundamental aspects of daily police work, including stops, searches and arrests. The consent decree marks the culmination of months of negotiations with the federal government and is meant to correct constitutional violations identified in a scathing report released last year.

The filing, in the waning days of U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch's tenure, is meant as a capstone moment for an administration that has made civil rights enforcement a priority and that has pursued similar agreements with other large American police forces.

"Through this agreement, we are moving forward together to work to heal the tension in the relationship between the Baltimore Police Department and the community that it serves," Lynch said at a news conference.

The agreement is intended to remain in place long after Lynch leaves office, though civil liberties advocates are concerned that U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, an Alabama Republican who's been nominated to replace her, may not enforce consent decrees with the same vigor.

"It is binding," Lynch said in moving to address those concerns, "and it will live on past this administration."

The Justice Department began investigating the Baltimore force following the April 2015 death of Freddie Gray, a young black man who was fatally injured while in the custody of officers. Its report last August found that officers were routinely stopping large numbers of people in poor, black neighborhoods for dubious reasons, and unlawfully arresting residents merely for speaking out in ways police deemed disrespectful.

The death shed light on the department's many deficiencies, including its officers' unfair and often brutal treatment of African-Americans living in the city's most vulnerable neighborhoods. But it also illuminated systemic failures that touched on all aspects of local government: lack of jobs, educational opportunities and decent, safe housing have long contributed to conditions for vast inequality in this city.

The consent decree discourages the arrest of citizens for offenses like loitering or littering, requiring a supervisor to sign off on any request to take someone into custody for a minor infraction, and also mandates basic training for making stops and searches.

In addition, it commands officers to use de-escalation techniques, thoroughly investigate sexual assault claims and send specially trained units to distress calls involving people with mental illness.