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1 1 (June 01, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdaqu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: k What Role Might the Federal Government Play in Law Enforcement Reform? Over the past few years, several high -profile police- involved shootings and alleged instances ofexcessive force have generated congressional interest in state and local policing. Congressional interest in policing refornrevolves primarily aroundthe public's confidencein the police and accountability for exces sive use of force. What role should Congress play in facilitating efforts to bolster confidence in the police? Should Congress seek to improve law enforcement's accountability regarding the excessive use of force? Thesequestions are boundedby limits of congressional authority. The federalized systemofgovernment in the United States limits the influence Congress can have over state and local law enforcement policies. The U.S. Constitution established a federal government of limited powers. A generalpolice power is not among them. That authority is largely reserved for the states. The Constitution, however, does vest Congress with legislative powers under the Spending, Commerce, Territorial, and Necessary and Proper Clauses, as well as under the enforcement sections of the Civil War Amendments. Congress has exercised this authority in the past to enact legislation that relates to law enforcement matters. Yet even here, its authority is not boundless. Congress may spend for the general welfare and thereby encourage states to take or refrain from various activities. In doing s o, however, the encouraged s tate action lmu s t relate to the purpose for which federal funds are spent. Moreover, state action may be encouraged, notcommandeered or compelled. Commandeering and compulsion are also beyond the s cope of the Comnerce Claus e, which otherwise empowers Congress to regulate the flow, ins trumentalities, and substantial impacts of interstate and foreign comnerce. Congress may enact model legislation for federal enclaves, but its reach there is geographically limited. The Necessary and Proper Clause permits implementing legislation, but only to the extent this legislation reasonably relates to powers that the Cons titution elsewhere grants to the federal government. Finally, each of the Civil War Amendments-the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments- conveys the power to enforce its pro visions by appropriate legislation, butthatpower is cabined bytheterms of the amendment and byjudicial interpretation of its breadth. Tools Avwl~able to the Federa Gwtvruw-n&memt to Promotes Law If Congress wants to influence localpolicing, it can hone at least three items in the federal criminaljus tice toolkit: policing-related datacollection by the U.S. government, federal processes to investigate localpolice misconduct, and the relationship between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and police throughout the United States. The federal government collects and disseminates limited data on the use of force by state and localpolice. Several programs gather this kind of information, but none collects data on every useof force incident in the United States. On January 1,2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launched its use of force data collection system. The FBI programcollects data on incidents that result in the death or serious bodily injury of a person, or when a law enforcement officer discharges a firearm at or in the direction of a person. Law enforcement agencies are encouraged, but not required, to participate. The FBI has yet to release anypublications using thesedata. Every three years, in its Police Public Contact Survey (PPCS), the Bureau of Justice Statistics collects data on citizens' interactions with police, includingpolice use of force. While the PPCS produces reliable national estimates of police use of force, it is a survey, not a census of all such incidents. The most recent data available are from 2015. The National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS), administered by the Centers for Dis ease Control and Prevention, operates in all states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Researchers in these states gather andlinkrecords fromlaw enforcement, coroners and medical examiners, vital statistics, and crime laboratories. The NVDRS can provide dataon deaths resulting fromlegal interventions. Congress passed the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (DCRA, P.L. 113-242), which reauthorized the Death in Custody Reporting progran This act requires states to submit datato DOJ regarding the deathof any person who is detained, under arrest, in the process of being arrested, en routeto be incarcerated, or incarcerated at a lmunicipal or county jail, a state prison, A A '2 Updated June 1, 2020

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