INSIGHTi
Law Enforcement Reform Provisions in
H.R. 4505
August 5, 2021
The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 (JIPA, H.R. 1280) was passed by the House on March
3, 2021; the bil has not been taken up by the Senate. The FY2022 Commerce, Justice, Science, and
Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bil (H.R. 4505), reported by the House Committee on
Appropriations, would implement parts of JIPA by funding some of the new grant programs and placing
conditions on existing grant programs that would be authorized by JIPA.
New Grants
H.R. 4505 would provide the following:
$5 mil ion under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program
for developing best practices for, and the creation of, local task forces on public safety
innovation that would develop new strategies for public safety (§366(a) of JIPA).
$15 mil ion under JAG for assisting tribal and local law enforcement agencies that
employ fewer than 100 officers with meeting use of force data reporting requirements;
creating a system that tracks use of force complaints against officers; creating public
awareness campaigns to gain information from the public on use of force by or against
law enforcement officers; and providing training on de-escalation, implicit bias, crisis
intervention techniques, and adolescent development (§224 of JIPA).
$5 mil ion under JAG for developing law enforcement data collection programs to study
hit rates for stops and searches (§333 of JIPA).
$100 mil ion for new grants to assist states with conducting pattern and practice
investigations (§103(b) of JIPA). JIPA would also amend the pattern and practice statute
to authorize states to conduct these investigations.
$250 mil ion for grants to help states and tribal governments establish statutes that
provide for the independent investigation of the use of force by police officers (§104(a)
of JIPA).
$25 mil ion for grants to community-based organizations to study management and
operations standards related to administrative due process in law enforcement agencies,
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residency requirements, compensation and benefits, use of force, racial profiling, early
warning and intervention systems, youth justice, school safety, civilian review boards or
analogous procedures, or research into the effectiveness of existing programs or activities
that address misconduct (§114(b) of JIPA).
$25 mil ion for grants to develop pilot programs and implement effective standards and
programs in the areas of training, hiring and recruitment, and oversight that are designed
to improve management and address misconduct by law enforcement officers. (§114(d)
of JIPA).
$4 mil ion for grants for programs to develop best practices for, and to create, civilian
review boards (§104(b) of JIPA).
Funding Conditions
H.R. 4505 would require grant recipients under the JAG program to use not less than 5% of their funding
to
assist law enforcement agencies with gaining or maintaining accreditation from a
certified law enforcement accreditation organization (§113(b) of JIPA);
study and implement effective management, training, recruiting, hiring, and oversight
standards and programs to promote effective community and problem-solving strategies
for law enforcement agencies (§114(a) of JIPA); and
implement body worn camera programs (§382(b) of JIPA).
H.R. 4505 would also prohibit the Department of Justice (DOJ) from awarding grants to state or local
governments under the State and Local Justice Assistance or Community Oriented Policing Services
(COPS) accounts unless the state or local government
maintains adequate policies and procedures to prohibit racial profiling in law
enforcement (§331 of JIPA);
reports data to DOJ on stops for traffic violations, pedestrian stops, frisks and body
searches, and the use of deadly force by law enforcement officers (§118(e) of JIPA; data
collected pursuant to this requirement would be separate from other DOJ efforts to collect
data on law enforcement practices, such as the Use of Force Data Collection program);
requires law enforcement officers to complete training programs on racial profiling,
implicit bias, de-escalation, use of force and a duty to intervene in cases where another
law enforcement officer is using excessive force against a civilian, and procedural justice
(§361(c) of JIPA);
prohibits the use of chokeholds by law enforcement officers (§363(b) of JIPA);
requires that law enforcement agencies have policies that require officers to use force in a
manner that is necessary and proportionate to effect an arrest and that deadly force is only
used as a last resort (§364(c) of JIPA);
prohibits the use of no-knock warrants in drug cases (§362(b) of JIPA);
prohibits any person acting under the color of law from engaging in sexual acts with
individuals and prohibits asserting the consent of the individual as a defense (§403 of
JIPA); and
does not make funds available to law enforcement agencies that enter into or renew
contractual agreements with a labor organization that would prohibit DOJ from seeking
or enforcing equitable or declaratory relief against a law enforcement agency engaging in
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a pattern or practice of unconstitutional misconduct or conflicts with the terms or
conditions of a consent decree (§103(d) of JIPA).
Final y, H.R. 4505 would prohibit DOJ from awarding any grants to a state, local, or tribal law
enforcement agency that has not started or completed the process of obtaining accreditation from a
certified accreditation organization (§113(c) of JIPA).
National Task Force on Law Enforcement Oversight
H.R. 4505 would establish the National Task Force on Law Enforcement Oversight, which would consult
with professional law enforcement associations, labor organizations, and community-based organizations
to coordinate the process of detecting and referring complaints of al eged law enforcement misconduct
(§117 of JIPA). The task force would be comprised of individuals from
the Special Litigation, Criminal, Federal Coordination and Compliance, Employment
Litigation, and Disability Rights sections of the Civil Rights Division;
the Office of Justice Programs;
the COPS Office;
the Public Corruption Program and the Civil Rights Section of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation;
the Community Relations Service;
the Office of Tribal Justice; and
the unit within DOJ assigned as a liaison for civilian review boards.
Author Information
Nathan James
Analyst in Crime Policy
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