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Because No One's Making Them Do It, Maine Law Enforcment Agencies Aren't Accurately Tracking Complaints Against Officers

Because No One's Making Them Do It, Maine Law Enforcment Agencies Aren't Accurately Tracking Complaints Against Officers

2 years ago
Anonymous $dEyjbtEkMr

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20220109/10253648254/because-no-ones-making-them-do-it-maine-law-enforcment-agencies-arent-accurately-tracking-complaints-against-officers.shtml

For three decades, the DOJ and FBI have barely tried (and always failed) to collect information about use of force by the nation's 18,000 law enforcement agencies. Despite occasional promises to be more thorough and do better, the FBI has, for the most part, done nothing with this opportunity -- one thrust upon it by a crime bill passed in 1994.

The biggest problem is that submission of use of force data has always been voluntary. The Department of Justice only directly oversees the FBI. Neither entity can force local agencies to provide this data. These multiple levels of failure have led to the Government Accountability Office suggesting the national use of force database be put out of its useless misery as early as this year, rather than just be another thing tax dollars are wasted on.