SoylentNews

takyon writes:

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice will set up databases that will track instances of death by police shooting, as well as voluntarily reported deaths due to suicide or medical issues while in police custody:

Under the plan, the Justice Department will gather more data on the use of force by federal agents and help local departments report information on a wider range of police encounters. But a number of the reporting steps will rely on local police officials to voluntarily submit data, and some civil rights advocates said the Justice Department had not made clear how it would impose financial penalties set by Congress to encourage the reporting of police shootings.

[...] The most comprehensive records on police shootings have come from the news media, particularly The Washington Post and The Guardian, which have created running databases. James B. Comey, the director of the F.B.I., told lawmakers last year that it was "embarrassing" that the news media could produce better data than his own agency on such an important issue. [...] According to the Post database, 991 people were fatally shot by the police last year, and 754 have been so far this year.

[...] Under the Justice Department plan, the F.B.I. is to begin a pilot program early next year to assemble data on the use of force by about 178,000 agents at major federal law enforcement agencies including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the F.B.I. itself. In addition, the Justice Department plans to begin collecting data from local and state law enforcement departments on "in custody" deaths — not just in shootings, but in cases of suicide and natural death as well.

A measure passed by Congress in 2014 called the Death in Custody Reporting Act required local departments to report only fatal encounters. Justice Department officials said they would rely on local police officials to voluntarily report nonlethal encounters as well. Under a third part of the plan, the Justice Department said it was authorizing $750,000 for a "police data initiative" designed to help local departments collect and publicly release information on a wider range of actions, including stops of citizens, searches, the use of force, shootings and other encounters.

Also at The Guardian and NPR. See also: Fatal Encounters.

Original Submission