Minnesota Statute 626.5534 — which went into effect on August 1, 2020 — mandated the chief law enforcement officer provide the information requested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. This information must include each incident of law enforcement use of force resulting in a fatality, serious bodily injury, or when a firearm is discharged by a law enforcement officer at or in the direction of a person.
Police-involved shootings and use of force have long been topics of national discussion. The opportunity to analyze information related to use-of-force incidents and to have an informed dialogue is hindered by the lack of nationwide statistics. To address the topic, representatives from major law enforcement organizations have been working in collaboration with the FBI to develop a national use-of-force data collection.
With a national data collection, data users can view use-of-force incidents involving law enforcement from a nationwide perspective. The goal of the resulting statistics is not to offer insight into single use-of-force incidents but to provide an aggregate view of the incidents reported and the circumstances, subjects, and officers involved.
The data collected will focus on information that is readily known and can be reported within the first few days after a use-of-force occurrence. Statistical reports will emphasize the collective nature of the data and will not assess whether the officers involved in use-of-force incidents acted lawfully or within the bounds of department policy.
Data about use-of-force events will provide statistics that will help measure the issue, find areas of concern, allow more informed talks, and find better answers about police use of force. The study of these data will also help differentiate between isolated events and trends involving these incidents.
How it works
The National Use-of-Force Data Collection will gather facts about the circumstances, subjects, and officers involved in use-of-force incidents. To protect privacy, the data collection will not include specifics about cases, disclose the names of people involved, or provide opinions on whether uses of force were justified. The system will gather details such as:
- Date, time, and reason for contact.
- Age, sex, race, and ethnicity of subject(s).
- Whether the officer(s) was on duty or injured.
The new Minnesota legislation now mandates this reporting for Minnesota law enforcement agencies and the chief law enforcement officer must submit monthly use-of-force reports with the easy-to-use online tool. If agencies have no events to report for a month, they will simply send a Zero Report that takes just seconds to submit. Eventually, local agencies will be able to download reports that will allow them to compare their data to that of agencies across Minnesota or the nation.
The National Use-of-Force Data Collection will help police and federal law enforcement agency leaders gather, report, and see their own data at the local level. The collection will also provide data about events in a specific region, in a state, or across the nation. The Minnesota BCA has released a National Use-of-Force Fact Sheet, and it explains that the information about use-of-force incidents must be submitted through the Supplemental Reporting System (SRS) using the combined Firearms Discharge and/or National Use-of-Force Report.
The FBI continues to encourage all police and federal law enforcement agencies to take part in the National Use-of-Force Data Collection, as participation is key. This program will give the FBI the information it needs to provide Americans with a better understanding of police use of force. To learn more about this important data collection initiative — including key resources — visit the FBI's Use-of-Force webpage.
If you have any questions, you may also contact me at tstille@lmc.org or give me a call at (651) 215-4051.
Remember: Responder Safety = Public Safety
Up next: Mental Health Awareness
In the meantime, stay safe and be careful -
Tracy
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