Letter to the Honorable James B. Comey, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigration - On Data Collection Systems

Letter

December 10, 2015

Director James B. Comey
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20535

Dear Director Comey:

We are very encouraged by your recent announcement that the FBI will reform its data collection system to better track violent encounters between police and members of the public. This is a critical first step toward restoring public trust in our criminal justice system.

As you have acknowledged previously, the current lack of accurate information about police-involved shootings and other incidents causing harm or death is unacceptable. The first step toward fixing a problem is to understand the full extent of it-and we know that improving data collection will strengthen accountability and help save lives. Moreover, it will aid our nation's leaders in crafting new policy to improve community-police relations.

As you know, we have authored legislation-the Police Reporting of Information, Data and Evidence Act, or PRIDE Act-that would require law enforcement agencies nationwide to report to the United States Department of Justice all incidents in which an officer is involved in a shooting or where use of force by or against an officer results in serious bodily harm or death.

As you move forward with these reforms, we also urge you to ensure that local law enforcement agencies report complete and accurate data so that the public and policymakers know the full extent of these tragic incidents.

Justice and accountability go hand in hand, but they both depend upon reliable data. We thank you for your commitment to shining a much-needed spotlight on this critical issue so that we can prevent these tragedies in the future.

Sincerely,

Senator Cory A. Booker
United States Senator

Senator Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

Source