Justice Department Unveils National Database to Track Federal Law Enforcement Misconduct

The database, part of President Biden's executive order on policing, aims to increase accountability and transparency, but will not be accessible to the public.

The Justice Department has launched a national database to track serious misconduct violations by federal law enforcement officers, a move aimed at bolstering accountability and reducing the use of unnecessary force.
The database will include records of misconduct incidents for current and former federal law enforcement officers dating back seven years.
All federal law enforcement entities must submit records to the database by Feb. 16, 2024.
The database will not be accessible to the public to protect employees’ privacy, but the Bureau of Justice Statistics intends to publish an annual public report of aggregated data about the program.
The initiative is limited in scope as the U.S. government lacks the authority to require participation from state, local and tribal police departments, which make up the majority of the nation’s law enforcement personnel.