Law enforcement: DOJ can improve publication of use of force data and monitoring of allegations of excessive use of force

What the GAO found

Between fiscal years 2016 through 2020, the Department of Justice (DOJ) collected and released certain data related to law enforcement’s use of force. However, the DOJ has not published an annual summary of excessive force data during each of these years, as required by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, because the officials have not assigned roles and responsibilities to do so. Stakeholders interviewed by GAO, including law enforcement associations, civil rights organizations and academic researchers, highlighted the importance of this data to better understand how to reduce excessive force. Assigning and communicating responsibility for publishing this data would help the DOJ meet legal requirements and develop useful data for Congress and the public.

In 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched a new effort to collect data on law enforcement use of force incidents. However, due to insufficient law enforcement involvement, the FBI did not meet thresholds set by the Office of Management and Budget for releasing data on the use of force or prosecution of the effort beyond December 2022. Also, as of February 2021, the FBI had not evaluated other data collection strategies. Evaluating alternative data collection strategies would allow the FBI to release use of force data more quickly if the program is discontinued.

In addition, stakeholders interviewed by GAO identified certain practices as promising or potentially promising for reducing excessive use of force (see figure).

Figure: Practices of stakeholders most often identified as promising or potentially promising in reducing excessive force

The DOJ does not have a specific grant program focused on reducing excessive force by law enforcement, but the GAO has identified six grant programs covering practices that may reduce the use of force by law enforcement. law enforcement. From fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2020, these six grant programs cumulatively provided $201.6 million for grants that included practices that may reduce excessive force by law enforcement.

In addition to grants, DOJ components have provided training and technical assistance related to practices that can reduce excessive force. For example, DOJ’s community-based policing has offered online courses on practices that can reduce excessive force (see figure).

Figure: Online training courses provided by the DOJ related to practices that may reduce excessive force

Five components within the DOJ have the authority to act on allegations of civil rights violations by law enforcement, including those resulting from excessive force. These components include: (1) the Special Litigation Section within the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, (2) the Criminal Section within the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, (3) the 94 U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the DOJ, (4) the Civil Rights Unit within the FBI, and (5) the Office of Civil Rights within the Office of Justice Programs.

From fiscal year 2016 to fiscal year 2020, all five components opened investigations into civil rights violations. However, the DOJ does not guarantee that all allegations within its jurisdiction are shared among these components. In 2016, the Civil Rights Division and Office of Civil Rights established a protocol, which directed components to periodically assess and, where appropriate, adopt available options for systematically sharing electronic information about allegations of abuse. misconduct related to law enforcement agencies that may receive DOJ grants. . In March 2021, Civil Rights Office officials said they had not done so, as they believed the protocol was advisory only. Instead, Civil Rights Division officials told us they share allegations of civil rights abuses with the FBI, Office of Civil Rights, and U.S. Attorney’s Offices through monthly meetings, emails and phone calls.

Members of the public who submit allegations to the five components of a DOJ with jurisdiction over civil rights may not have complete information about the respective jurisdictions and priorities of each of these components. Therefore, systematic follow-up and information sharing could provide members of the public with the assurance that their allegations will be shared with all components with the power to act.

The Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section is responsible for identifying patterns and practices of law enforcement misconduct. However, Special Litigation Section staff are not required to use information about DOJ allegations to identify potential law enforcement issues or analyze trends. Instead, staff review each allegation independently and are not required to identify trends across individual allegations of police misconduct which, cumulatively, may indicate a pattern or pattern of misconduct. Civil Rights Division officials said that, while not required, staff could use the Civil Rights Division’s database of allegations to identify patterns and trends if they wished. Requiring staff to use information about allegations to identify potential patterns of systemic law enforcement misconduct and analyze trends could improve the usefulness of DOJ’s information about allegations and provide greater assurance that the Division optimizes its use of information assets to facilitate decision-making.

Why GAO Did This Study

Recent deaths of individuals in clashes with law enforcement have sparked interest in federal government efforts to better understand and reduce excessive use of force and bias in law enforcement. . Law enforcement officers may use force to mitigate an incident, make an arrest, or protect themselves or others. However, if an officer uses more force than is reasonable in the circumstances, that use of force is excessive and may violate an individual’s civil rights.

Generally, regulation of the nation’s approximately 18,000 state and municipal law enforcement agencies is left to the states. However, within the federal government, the DOJ performs certain roles related to law enforcement’s use of force, including collecting relevant data, providing grants and training to law enforcement. , as well as the receipt and investigation of allegations of excessive force.

The GAO has prepared this report under the authority of the Comptroller General in light of the national and congressional interest in law enforcement’s use of force. This report discusses (1) the DOJ’s collection and publication of data on the use of force by law enforcement officials; (2) what is known about practices aimed at reducing excessive force; (3) GM resources for such practices; and, (4) DOJ investigations of allegations of excessive force by law enforcement.

To conduct this audit, GAO reviewed DOJ data and documentation and interviewed DOJ officials. The GAO also analyzed data on grants and DOJ investigations and cases related to civil rights violations. In addition, GAO reviewed academic literature and interviewed stakeholders from law enforcement associations, civil rights organizations, academic researchers, and federal government agencies.