National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2025
Rep. Cohen Introduces Bill to Require National Reporting on Police Use of Deadly Force
This bill was recently introduced and is currently being reviewed by the House Committee on the Judiciary. It is in the early stages of the lawmaking process and is considered active. There are no upcoming votes or hearings scheduled at this time.
Legislative Progress
While police transparency is a major topic, similar bills often face strong opposition from law enforcement groups and have struggled to pass in a divided Congress.
Key Points
- This bill would require the Attorney General to create national rules for tracking every time a law enforcement officer uses deadly force. The system would cover federal, state, and local police and must be set up within six months of the bill becoming law.
From policy text
“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.”
View in full text - Police departments would need to report detailed information about each incident, including the race, gender, age, and religion of both the officer and the person targeted. They would also need to describe why deadly force was used and whether non-lethal methods were tried first.
From policy text
“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”
View in full text - To protect privacy, the names and identifying information of officers and civilians would be kept out of public reports and would be exempt from Freedom of Information Act requests. Only the aggregate data and statistics would be shared publicly.
From policy text
“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”
View in full text - State and local agencies that fail to comply with the reporting requirements face a 10% cut to their federal Byrne JAG grant funding, creating a financial incentive for participation.
From policy text
“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.”
View in full text - All collected data must be kept on file by law enforcement agencies for at least four years, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics is responsible for making the data available to both Congress and the public.
From policy text
“require that law enforcement agencies shall maintain all data collected under this Act for not less than 4 years.”
View in full text
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
Milestones
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
News
No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
National Statistics on Deadly Force Transparency Act of 2025
Data Sources
Sponsor
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