Development of a National Data System to Collect Officer-Involved Shootings and Use of Force Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury or Death

• In Event: Federal Approaches to Measure Police Use of Force

Abstract

Lawmakers, practitioners, the media and other stakeholders have noted the need for a comprehensive national data collection that captures the prevalence and circumstances of use of force. This data is necessary in order to enhance transparency and improve relationships between law enforcement and the communities they serve. Since 1966, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has collected justifiable homicide data through the Supplemental Homicide Reports of the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program. The statistics collected through the UCR Program reflect information known and reported by law enforcement voluntarily. Because of its voluntary nature, the justifiable homicide data has rarely reflected the totality of such incidents in the United States. This presentation will discuss the FBI’s creation of a new data collection system that will improve the reporting of law enforcement use of force that results in fatalities, as well as nonfatal uses of force including firearm discharges at or in the direction of a person or use of force that results in serious bodily injury. The discussion will focus on the incident elements that will be collected, data collection procedures, and dissemination strategy. Coordination with Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Arrest-Related Deaths collection will be highlighted.

Author

• Cynthia Barnett-Ryan, Federal Bureau of Investigation, USDOJ