Sponsor
Stephen Cohen
Representative · D-TN
Representative · D-TN
The bill substantially increases standardized transparency and data availability on deadly-force incidents—helping researchers, policymakers, and communities—while imposing new costs and compliance burdens on law enforcement, introducing privacy and reidentification risks, and limiting some public FOIA access which may shift oversight away from public scrutiny and disproportionately affect under-resourced jurisdictions.
All Americans gain clearer, standardized national data on law enforcement deadly-force incidents, improving transparency about when and how force is used.
Researchers, policymakers, and Congress get access to anonymized BJS datasets to analyze trends and craft informed policy and oversight.
Communities of color and other demographic groups gain clearer demographic breakdowns (race, gender, age, perceived religion) in deadly-force data to inform accountability and reform efforts.
Local and state law enforcement will face new administrative costs and recordkeeping burdens to collect, standardize, and retain incident data for at least four years.
Smaller or under-resourced police departments, especially in rural areas, may struggle to meet reporting deadlines and compliance requirements, risking diverted resources or noncompliance.
Jurisdictions that miss the reporting deadline risk losing 10% of Byrne JAG grant funds, which could reduce money for law enforcement and lead to service or staffing cuts.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Creates a nationwide standardized reporting system for all law enforcement deadly-force incidents, requires DOJ/BJS publication of deidentified data, and penalizes noncompliance by cutting Byrne JAG grants.
Official title: To require the Attorney General to issue rules pertaining to the collection and compilation of data on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers.
Introduced February 12, 2025 by Stephen Cohen · Last progress February 12, 2025
Requires the Attorney General to create rules and a standardized reporting system for every instance a federal, state, or local law enforcement officer uses deadly force, including specific demographic and incident details, with data submitted to the Bureau of Justice Statistics for public reporting (excluding protected identifiers). Agencies must retain data four years, and states or localities that substantially fail to report can lose 10% of their Byrne JAG grants the following fiscal year. The Attorney General must issue the implementing regulations within six months of enactment.