Bill Details
HR.1240 - 119th Congress
Status
Latest action
2025-02-12 - Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced Date
2025-02-12
Policy Area
Crime and Law Enforcement
Committees
View committees (1)
Sponsors
8
0
0
AI Summary This summary was generated by AI from the bill text. AI can get information wrong.
This bill would require the Attorney General to set up national rules for collecting and reporting data on every case where law enforcement uses deadly force. The goal is to make this information more complete and easier to track across federal, state, and local agencies. The rules would require agencies to report details about the people involved, what happened, what kind of force was used, and what efforts were made before deadly force was used. The Justice Department would then share the data with Congress and the public, while keeping names and other identifying details private. Agencies that fail to report properly could face cuts in certain federal law enforcement grants.
- The Attorney General would have 6 months after the law takes effect to issue the reporting rules, working with law enforcement, community groups, researchers, and civil rights organizations.
- Agencies would have to report every incident involving deadly force and include information such as race or ethnicity, gender, approximate age, and actual or perceived religion of the person targeted and the officer involved.
- The reports would also need to include the date, time, and place of the incident; the alleged crime; the type of deadly force used; the agency’s explanation; any use-of-force policy in effect; and what non-lethal steps were tried first.
- Law enforcement agencies would need to use a standard form, keep the data for at least 4 years, and send it to the Department of Justice. The public data could not include names or other identifying information. States or local governments that do not largely comply could lose 10% of certain Byrne JAG grant money the next year.
Official Summaries
National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2025
This bill establishes a framework to require law enforcement agencies to collect data on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers.
Specifically, it requires federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to collect, compile, and submit to the Department of Justice's (DOJ's) Bureau of Justice Statistics data on the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers.
DOJ must reduce by 10% the allocation of funds under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for a state or local government that fails to substantially comply.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1240 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1240
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 12, 2025
Mr. Cohen introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``National Statistics on Deadly Force
Transparency Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ISSUE REGULATIONS.
(a) Regulations.--Not later than 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation with
stakeholders, including Federal, State, and local law enforcement
agencies and community, professional, research, and civil rights
organizations, shall issue regulations for the collection and
compilation of data pertaining to the use of deadly force by Federal,
State, or local law enforcement officers.
(b) Requirements.--The regulations issued under subsection (a)
shall--
(1) require the collection of data on all instances wherein
deadly force was used by a Federal, State, or local law
enforcement officer;
(2) require that the data collected shall--
(A) include identifying characteristics of the
person who was the target of the use of deadly force
and the officer who used deadly force, including--
(i) race or ethnicity;
(ii) gender;
(iii) approximate age; and
(iv) the actual or perceived religious
affiliation;
(B) include the date, time, and location of such
use of deadly force;
(C) include the alleged criminal activity of the
person who was the target of the use of deadly force;
(D) include the nature of the deadly force used,
including the use of a firearm;
(E) include an explanation, if any, from the
relevant law enforcement agency on why deadly force was
used;
(F) include a copy of any use of deadly force
guidelines in effect at the relevant law enforcement
agency at the time deadly force was used;
(G) include a description of any non-lethal efforts
employed to apprehend or subdue the person who was the
target of the use of deadly force before deadly force
was used; and
(H) not include personally identifiable information
described in section 4;
(3) provide that a standardized form shall be made
available to law enforcement agencies for the submission of
data collected pursuant to this Act to the Department of
Justice;
(4) require that law enforcement agencies compile data
using the standardized form made available under paragraph (3),
and submit the form to the Department of Justice Bureau of
Justice Statistics and any other component of the Department of
Justice that the Attorney General determines appropriate; and
(5) require that law enforcement agencies shall maintain
all data collected under this Act for not less than 4 years.
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS.
The Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics shall
provide to Congress and make available to the public the data collected
pursuant to this Act, excluding any personally identifiable information
described in section 4.
SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON PUBLICATION OF DATA.
The name or identifying information of a law enforcement officer,
person who was the target of the use of deadly force, or any other
individual involved in any activity for which data is collected and
compiled under this Act shall not be--
(1) released to the public;
(2) disclosed to any person, except for--
(A) such disclosures as are necessary to comply
with this Act;
(B) disclosures of information regarding a
particular person to that person; or
(C) disclosures pursuant to litigation; or
(3) subject to disclosure under section 552 of title 5,
United States Code (commonly known as the Freedom of
Information Act), except for disclosures of information
regarding a particular person to that person.
SEC. 5. BYRNE JAG GRANT REDUCED FOR FAILURE TO REPORT.
In the case of a State or unit of local government that received a
grant award under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), if that
State or unit of local government fails substantially to comply with
the requirement under section 2 for a fiscal year, the Attorney General
shall reduce the amount that would otherwise be awarded to that State
or unit of local government under such grant program in the following
fiscal year by 10 percent.
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