Improving Data Availability to Promote Effective Policing (US0147)

As President Biden underscored in Executive Order 14074 on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Crim- inal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety, an effective criminal justice system depends on public trust, and public trust in turn requires transparency and accountability. To support greater transparency and accountability in our criminal justice system, the Executive Order directed the Attorney General to establish the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database as a centralized repository of official records document- ing instances of law enforcement officer misconduct as well as commendations and awards for all Federal law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Department of Justice will also encourage State, Tribal, territorial, local, and other law enforcement agencies to contribute to and use the database. In coming years, the Federal Government commits to assessing the feasibility of what database records may be accessible to the public, taking into account the critical need for public trust, transparency and accountability, as well as safety, privacy, and due process concerns. This includes publishing regular public reports based on anonymized data from the database once the database is established.

The Administration commits to meeting the data-related objectives of Executive Order 14074 through the Sub- committee on Equitable Data, described above. In turn, the Subcommittee commits to launching an interagency working group on Criminal Justice Statistics with representatives from relevant offices across the Federal Gov- ernment. The Working Group and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy commit to issuing a report to the President and the public that assesses current data collection, use, and transparency practices with respect to law enforcement activities, including calls for service, searches, stops, frisks, seizures, arrests, complaints, law enforcement demographics, and civil asset forfeiture. To inform that report, the Working Group will launch a 60- day comment period and host a series of listening sessions to solicit input from members of the public across the nation. The Working Group will look for feedback on how to improve law enforcement agency data collection, use, and transparency to inform policies, protocols, and procedures that will result in more equitable, effective, and accountable policing outcomes.