By Steve Neavling
The Justice Department has created a database to track federal law enforcement officers who commit serious misconduct in an effort to prevent federal agencies from unwittingly hiring problematic officers.
The DOJ announced the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database on Monday to curb the hiring of federal officers who lose their jobs or resign after misconduct allegations.
“No law enforcement agency — including the Justice Department — can effectively do its work without the trust of the public,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement. “This database will give our law enforcement agencies an important new tool for vetting and hiring officers and agents that will help strengthen our efforts to build and retain that trust.”
President Biden said the database will help prevent bad hiring decisions.
“This database will ensure that records of serious misconduct by federal law enforcement officers are readily available to agencies considering hiring those officers,” Biden said.
In May 2022, two years after the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, the Biden administration pledged to create the database.
The database will monitor eight areas of behavior deemed “serious misconduct” by former and current federal law enforcement officers over the past seven years. The areas range from excessive force and sexual misconduct to making false reports to engaging in bias or discrimination.”
“This database will make policing safer and more effective by strengthening trust between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve,” Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco said. “The Justice Department and law enforcement agencies throughout the federal government are committed to ensuring that the database strengthens hiring practices while protecting the safety, due process rights, and privacy of law enforcement officers.”
