There are many statements that can strike fear into the heart of a police chief, but hearing the agency is under a federal consent decree is among the most daunting. Once a chief reads the document and understands the requirements—and the panic subsides—his or her next thoughts are likely, “This will take years!”; “How can we afford this?”; and “Crime is going to go through the roof!” It is important to take a step back and look at the big picture. Something happened to get the situation to this point. Consent decrees and all the other forms of external monitoring and oversight have all started with some form of diminished “trust” between the community and the agency.