The city of Minneapolis has agreed to make systemic reforms to its police department after a federal investigation sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd found a pattern of civil rights violations including unjustified deadly force and discrimination.

The city, its police department and federal officials reached a court-enforceable agreement known as a consent decree, the Justice Department announced this week. The agreement aims to prevent excessive use of force and racially discriminatory policing and to protect the public’s First Amendment rights. An independent monitor will be appointed to assess whether the requirements of the decree are being met and report publicly on the city’s progress.

“Through this consent decree, the City and the Minneapolis Police Department have committed to instituting reforms that will make Minneapolis a model law enforcement agency that respects everyone’s civil and constitutional rights,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

The announcement in Minneapolis comes after the Justice Department reached a similar agreement in Louisville, Kentucky, where the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor sparked major protests. The Justice Department has been enforcing more than a dozen such agreements over the past four years after Attorney General Merrick Garland reversed a Trump administration policy limiting the use of consent decrees.

Here’s what to know about consent decrees:

What is a consent decree?

The 1994 Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act gave the civil rights division of the Justice Department the power to investigate systemic police misconduct. Of nearly 70 investigations conducted between 1994 and 2016, 20 resulted in the creation of court-enforced consent decrees, according to a 2017 report from the Justice Department.

These decrees are legal agreements requiring changes which are overseen by a federal court and an independent monitor. Conducting the investigations, negotiating the agreements and implementing reforms often take years to complete.

The Justice Department is currently enforcing 15 existing agreements and has opened 12 new investigations into law enforcement agencies since Biden’s term began.

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Do consent decrees work?

Consent decrees have been credited with successfully improving some of the country’s 18,000 police departments. In October, the Justice Department and the city of Albuquerque sought to end certain portions of their consent decree after its independent monitor found the city and police department have fully complied with 99% of the consent decree’s terms.

In Ferguson, Missouri, which became an epicenter for police reform after mass protests following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014, there were major changes eight years later. Ferguson monitor Natashia Tidwell reportedly cited significant progress in officer training and community policing. The mostly all-white police department is more racially diverse. Traffic stops are less frequent and systems have been set up to hear resident complaints.

But some officials have criticized the court-enforced plans for being expensive, time-consuming and ineffective. Jim Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, previously told USA TODAY consent decrees can exacerbate tension between police and the communities.

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The union representing Louisville Metro Police officers filed a motion in federal court opposing the city’s recently signed consent decree, which has not yet been approved by U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton and enacted. The River City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 614 argued the 242-page agreement alters working conditions of officers and has the potential to erode the union’s collective bargaining capabilities.

The city of Memphis told the U.S. Department of Justice in a letter last month it will not enter into a consent decree with the government following the completion of its pattern-or-practice investigation into the Memphis Police Department. The investigation was announced months after Tyre Nichols was fatally beaten by officers with the Memphis Police Department’s SCORPION Unit, though the DOJ said it did not start the investigation solely because of that incident.

“We believe there are better ways to reimagine policing that do not slow the process or cost the taxpayers millions of dollars,” the letter read.

What happens next in Minneapolis?

The consent decree in Minneapolis is pending court approval. If enacted, it will require officers to emphasize de-escalation techniques, limit pretextual stops and avoid handcuffing children under the age of 14. The department must also prioritize non-police response to calls involving behavioral health issues, thoroughly investigate complaints and hold officers accountable.

The agreement comes after a 92-page Justice Department report found Minneapolis police used excessive force, unlawfully discriminated against Black and Native American people, violated the rights of people engaged in speech protected by the First Amendment and discriminated against people with behavioral health disabilities.

The investigation was launched nearly a year after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes. Floyd’s death sparked in May 2020 sparked nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

“Our commitment to securing a federal consent decree has never wavered – it has been a top priority of my administration, and we are ready to act,” said Mayor Jacob Frey.“This agreement reflects what our community has asked for and what we know is necessary: real accountability and meaningful change. I’m grateful to the Department of Justice for their partnership and urgency in helping us finalize this decree, ensuring we didn’t lose this critical opportunity to advance reforms and build on the important work already underway.”

Contributing: Reuters; Bart Jansen, Kelly Puente, and Terry Collins USA TODAY; Lucas Finton, Memphis Commercial Appeal; Josh Wood, Louisville Courier Journal