{ "id": "R43904", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "R", "number": "R43904", "active": true, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov", "title": "Public Trust and Law Enforcement\u2014A Discussion for Policymakers", "retrieved": "2020-09-07T12:22:24.481411", "id": "R43904_17_2020-07-13", "formats": [ { "filename": "files/2020-07-13_R43904_e8593913425e5d703bfe0eb7c807f6840c0780d4.pdf", "format": "PDF", "url": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R43904/17", "sha1": "e8593913425e5d703bfe0eb7c807f6840c0780d4" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/2020-07-13_R43904_e8593913425e5d703bfe0eb7c807f6840c0780d4.html" } ], "date": "2020-07-13", "summary": null, "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov", "typeId": "R", "active": true, "sourceLink": "https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/details?prodcode=R43904", "type": "CRS Report" }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 588826, "date": "2018-12-13", "retrieved": "2019-12-20T20:21:00.402959", "title": "Public Trust and Law Enforcement\u2014 A Discussion for Policymakers", "summary": "Several high-profile incidents where the police have apparently used excessive force against citizens have generated interest in what role Congress could play in facilitating efforts to build trust between the police and the people they serve. This report provides a brief overview of the federal government\u2019s role in police-community relations. \nPublic confidence in the police declined in 2014 and 2015 after several high-profile incidents in which men of color were killed during confrontations with the police. Confidence in the police has rebounded in recent years and is now back to the historical average. However, certain groups, such as Hispanics, blacks, people under the age of 35, and individuals with liberal political leanings say they have less confidence in the police than whites, people over the age of 35, and people with conservative political leanings.\nIf Congress concludes that low public opinion of the police is at least partially attributable to police policies and practices, it may decide to address state and local law enforcement policies and practices it believes erode public trust in the police. Federalism limits the amount of influence Congress can have over state and local law enforcement policy. Regardless, the federal government might choose to address issues related to promoting better police-community relations and accountability through (1) federal efforts to collect and disseminate data on the use of force by police, (2) statutes that allow the federal government to investigate instances of alleged police misconduct, and (3) the influence the Department of Justice (DOJ) has on state and local policing through its role as a public interest law enforcer, policy leader, convener, and funder of state and local law enforcement agencies.\nThere are several options policymakers might consider should they choose to play a role in facilitating better police-community relations, including the following: \nplacing conditions on federal funding to encourage law enforcement agencies to adopt policies that promote better community relations;\nexpanding efforts to collect comprehensive data on the use of force by law enforcement officers;\nproviding grants to law enforcement agencies so they could purchase body-worn cameras for their officers; \ntaking steps to facilitate investigations and prosecutions of excessive force by amending 18 U.S.C. Section 242 to reduce the mens rea standard in federal prosecutions, or place conditions on federal funds to promote the use of special prosecutors at the state level;\nfunding Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring grants so law enforcement agencies could hire more officers to engage in community policing activities; and\nusing the influence of congressional authority to affect the direction of national criminal justice policy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43904", "sha1": "1f5eb3319cb055780a888188c4be53d859b9ca8c", "filename": "files/20181213_R43904_1f5eb3319cb055780a888188c4be53d859b9ca8c.html", "images": { "/products/Getimages/?directory=R/html/R43904_files&id=/0.png": "files/20181213_R43904_images_5d5634e7238e31d6afd8d34ae1a0e6eca4315f5f.png" } }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "https://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43904", "sha1": "e71eaece2765d4b6957ef2f4e2c87b5610c501ee", "filename": "files/20181213_R43904_e71eaece2765d4b6957ef2f4e2c87b5610c501ee.pdf", "images": {} } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4850, "name": "Criminal Justice" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 454418, "date": "2016-07-19", "retrieved": "2016-10-17T19:43:49.612911", "title": "Public Trust and Law Enforcement\u2014A Brief Discussion for Policymakers", "summary": "Events over the past several years involving conflict between the police and citizens have generated interest in what role Congress could play in facilitating efforts to build trust between law enforcement and the people they serve while promoting effective crime reduction. This report provides a brief overview of the federal government\u2019s role in police-community relations. \nDespite what appears to be an apparent decreasing amount of trust between law enforcement and the public, Gallup poll data show that, overall, Americans are confident in the police; but, confidence in the police varies according to race, place of residence, and other factors.\nIf Congress concludes that low public ratings of the police are at least partially attributable to police policies, Congress may decide to address state and local law enforcement policies and practices they believe erode public trust in law enforcement. Federalism limits the amount of influence Congress can have over state and local law enforcement policy. Regardless, the federal government might choose to address issues related to promoting better law enforcement-community relations and accountability through (1) federal efforts to collect and disseminate data on the use of force by law enforcement, (2) statutes that allow the federal government to investigate instances of alleged police misconduct, and (3) the influence the Department of Justice (DOJ) has on state and local policing through its role as an enforcer, policy leader, convener, and funder of law enforcement.\nThere are several options policymakers might examine should they choose to play a role in facilitating better police-community relations, including the following: \nplacing conditions on federal funding to encourage law enforcement to adopt policy changes to promote better community relations;\nexpanding efforts to collect more comprehensive data on the use of force by law enforcement officers;\nproviding grants to law enforcement agencies so they could purchase body-worn cameras for their officers; \ntaking steps to facilitate investigations and prosecutions of excessive force by amending 18 U.S.C. \u00a7242 to reduce the mens rea standard in federal prosecutions, or place conditions on federal funds to promote the use of special prosecutors at the state level;\nfunding Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring grants so law enforcement agencies could hire more officers to engage in community policing activities;\nincreasing funding for federal support for law enforcement safety; and\nusing the influence of congressional authority to affect the direction of national criminal justice policy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43904", "sha1": "48b1477462646c163c23943229da4f2a2107d817", "filename": "files/20160719_R43904_48b1477462646c163c23943229da4f2a2107d817.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43904", "sha1": "bcb1e40e535821ee9ca086f0b1b43e22180cb79c", "filename": "files/20160719_R43904_bcb1e40e535821ee9ca086f0b1b43e22180cb79c.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 4850, "name": "Criminal Justice" } ] }, { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 451010, "date": "2016-03-22", "retrieved": "2016-03-24T16:49:34.537492", "title": "Public Trust and Law Enforcement\u2014A Brief Discussion for Policymakers", "summary": "Events over the past several years involving conflict between the police and citizens have generated interest in what role Congress could play in facilitating efforts to build trust between law enforcement and the people they serve while promoting effective crime reduction. This report provides a brief overview of police-community relations and how the federal government might be able to promote more accountability and better relationships between citizens and law enforcement.\nGallup poll data show that, overall, Americans are confident in the police; but, confidence in the police varies according to race, place of residence, and other factors. In 2014, less than 50% of Americans favorably rated the honesty and ethics of police, the lowest percentage since 1998.\nIf they conclude that low public ratings of the police are at least partially attributable to police policies, Congress may decide to address state and local law enforcement policies and practices they believe erode public trust in law enforcement. Federalism limits the amount of influence Congress can have over state and local law enforcement policy. Regardless, the federal government might choose to promote better law enforcement-community relations and accountability through (1) federal efforts to collect and disseminate data on the use of force by law enforcement, (2) statutes that allow the federal government to investigate instances of alleged police misconduct, and (3) the influence the Department of Justice (DOJ) has on state and local policing through its role as an enforcer, policy leader, convener, and funder of law enforcement.\nThere are several options policymakers might examine should they choose to play a role in facilitating better police-community relations: \nCongress could consider placing conditions on federal funding to encourage law enforcement to adopt policy changes to promote better community relations.\nPolicymakers could consider expanding efforts to collect more comprehensive data on the use of force by law enforcement officers.\nCongress could consider providing grants to law enforcement agencies so they could purchase body-worn cameras for their officers. \nPolicymakers could take steps to facilitate investigations and prosecutions of excessive force by amending 18 U.S.C. \u00a7242 to reduce the mens rea standard in federal prosecutions, or place conditions on federal funds to promote the use of special prosecutors at the state level.\nCongress could fund Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) hiring grants so law enforcement agencies could hire more officers to engage in community policing activities.\nPolicymakers might consider using the influence of congressional authority to affect the direction of national criminal justice policy.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43904", "sha1": "854e0215d2910244c0ae64e3a615b9c3b9a52cf3", "filename": "files/20160322_R43904_854e0215d2910244c0ae64e3a615b9c3b9a52cf3.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43904", "sha1": "a7f35e87045f8654f80b9134228348969d86cbac", "filename": "files/20160322_R43904_a7f35e87045f8654f80b9134228348969d86cbac.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc503547/", "id": "R43904_2015Feb09", "date": "2015-02-09", "retrieved": "2015-04-30T17:37:21", "title": "Public Trust and Law Enforcement--A Brief Discussion for Policy Makers", "summary": "This report provides a brief overview of police-community relations and how the federal government might be able to promote more accountability and better relationships between citizens and law enforcement.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20150209_R43904_92c2848658e9ad2155929aa37f1b2fbba057153c.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20150209_R43904_92c2848658e9ad2155929aa37f1b2fbba057153c.html" } ], "topics": [ { "source": "LIV", "id": "Criminal justice", "name": "Criminal justice" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Discrimination in law enforcement", "name": "Discrimination in law enforcement" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Law enforcement -- U.S. -- Public opinion", "name": "Law enforcement -- U.S. -- Public opinion" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Police brutality", "name": "Police brutality" }, { "source": "LIV", "id": "Police-community relations", "name": "Police-community relations" } ] } ], "topics": [ "Crime Policy", "Health Policy", "Intelligence and National Security" ] }