Research Guides: Law Enforcement and Racial Justice: Federal and Other States

Federal Government Documents

Executive Order No. 13929, 85 Fed. Reg. 37,325 (June 16, 2020)
Executive Order on Safe Policing for Safe Communities

Final report of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing by United States. President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing
Call Number: Online access
Publication Date: 2015
Available via Hein Online access.

The Congressional bills listed below include those aimed at comprehensive reform of policing practices and law enforcement accountability.

George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, H.R. 7120, 116th Cong. (2020)
A bill to hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct in court, improve transparency through data collection, and reform police training and policies. (Introduced June 8, 2020)
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020 : report together with minority views (to accompany H.R. 7120).
H. Rept. 116-434 Part 1.
S. 3192, 116th Cong. (2020)
A bill to hold law enforcement accountable for misconduct in court, improve transparency through data collection, and reform police training and policies. (Introduced 06/08/2020)
Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act, S. 3985, 116th Cong. (2020)
A bill to improve and reform policing practices, accountability and transparency. (Introduced June 17, 2020)
Oversight Hearing on Policing Practices and Law Enforcement Accountability Before the House Committee on the Judiciary, 116th Cong. (2020)
Hearing before the House Committee on the Judiciary held on June 10, 2020.

The Congressional Research Service, which conducts research and analysis to support the work of Congress, has produced several reports related to police reform and accountability issues. Links to those reports are included on the relevant subject-specific pages of this guide.

Recommended Related Guide

Protests Against Police Brutality (2020) (UC San Diego Library)
This guide attempts to help document the federal response to civil protests following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

Federal & State Legislation Tracking

National Conference of State Legislatures, Legislative Responses for Policing-State Bill Tracking Database
"The National Conference of State Legislatures provides you with up-to-date, real-time information on law enforcement legislation that has been introduced in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The database contains policing bills and executive orders introduced as of May 25, 2020, that are in response to recent events."
Policing Legislation Tracking Spreadsheet (Duke Center for Science and Justice)
The spreadsheet lists police reform legislation (state and federal). Includes bill number, title, status and topic description.
Database for Police Abolition
"The Database for Police Abolition (D4PA) is a database-in-progress aiming to track nationwide proposals to defund, disarm, and disempower police departments, and to empower alternatives to policing." The website's FAQ states, "The database is managed and updated by a group of volunteers working remotely across the United States. Volunteers include law students, programmers, researchers, and others with interests and/or experience in abolitionist frameworks."