Dr. Phillip Atiba Goff, Co-founder and CEO of Center for Policing Equity, released the following statement today regarding the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s new National Use-of-Force Data Collection:
“We commend the FBI for creating a tool that can help prevent police abuse of power and pressure law enforcement to report use-of-force incidents. The federal government must play a role in police reform if our nation hopes to achieve equitable public safety. Still, the National Use-of-Force Data Collection is only a step toward greater police accountability. Without a clear set of guidelines for data collection and mandatory participation from law enforcement, local agencies can decide how much and what types of data they are willing to contribute, resulting in data that cannot be usefully interpreted.”
“We hope the FBI and other divisions of federal law enforcement will look to experts in police data intake and analysis to help continuing efforts to improve our nation’s capacity to collect and analyze police data and continue aligning the noble profession with the values it is sworn to protect. By working alongside one another, we can help law enforcement agencies across the country keep their officers safer and better protect the communities they serve.”