Cost of Police Misconduct Act of 2026

Key Points

• This bill requires all federal law enforcement and many local police departments to report details about misconduct cases. This includes how much money was paid in legal settlements or court judgments and what specific type of misconduct happened, such as excessive force, racial profiling, or body camera violations.
• Local and state police departments that receive certain federal grants would have to share this information or risk losing up to 10% of that federal funding. This is intended to create a clear national picture of how much police misconduct costs taxpayers and which departments have the most recurring issues.
• The Department of Justice would create a public, searchable website where anyone can look up this data. While the database will show the age, race, and gender of the people involved, it will not include the names of individual police officers to protect their privacy.
• The government would also track exactly where the money for these legal payments comes from, such as city budgets, private insurance, or special bonds. This helps the public understand if money meant for other community services is being used to pay for legal mistakes made by law enforcement.
• After two years of collecting data, government auditors would conduct a major study to find the leading causes of police misconduct. They would then provide recommendations to police departments on how to change their culture or programs to reduce these incidents and save money.