Department of Justice Fact Sheet on Implementing Executive Order on Advancing Effective, Accountable Policing and Criminal Justice Practices to Enhance Public Trust and Public Safety

Implementing Executive Order 14074 is part of the Justice Department’s broader work to advance effective, fair, and constitutional policing, improve conditions of confinement and reentry outcomes, promote officer safety and wellness, and improve data collection and analysis to guide policies and decision making. The Department is using all of its tools to advance public safety and build police-community trust, while advancing thoughtful, evidence-informed initiatives and reforms throughout the criminal justice system. As the Executive Order makes clear, system-wide change requires funding and support that only Congress can authorize. The mandates of the Executive Order apply only to Federal law enforcement agencies.

Over the last two years, the Department has worked diligently on more than 90 Executive Order deliverables and engaged with stakeholders from civil rights, law enforcement, and community groups, as well as our federal agency partners. This work includes establishing the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database, prohibiting the transfer or purchase of military-style weapons and equipment to State, Tribal, local, and territorial (STLT) law enforcement agencies, awarding grants in a manner that supports and promotes the adoption of the Executive Order’s policies, and creating accreditation standards to help encourage STLT law enforcement agencies to adopt policies consistent with the Executive Order.

• National Law Enforcement Accountability Database
• Grantmaking, Accreditation, and Guidance
• Accountability
• Conditions of Persons Incarcerated or Under Supervision Data Collection
• Data Collection
• Guidance on the Use of a Protected Characteristic
• Justice Department Use of Force and Other Standards
• Strategic Plan to Advance Goals of Alternatives and Reentry Committee

National Law Enforcement Accountability Database

To strengthen hiring practices by federal law enforcement agencies and increase transparency and accountability, the Justice Department launched the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD), a centralized repository of official records documenting instances of misconduct as well as commendations and awards for federal law enforcement officers.

• The NLEAD connects all federal law enforcement agencies under one accountability infrastructure. With the NLEAD, law enforcement agency hiring personnel will have more accurate and complete information about misconduct in a job candidate’s past. Agencies can then make more informed hiring decisions, which enhances both accountability and public safety. 

• The NLEAD is accessible only to authorized users to help determine suitability and eligibility of candidates for law enforcement positions. As required by the Executive Order, on an annual basis, the Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) will publish a public report containing aggregated and anonymized data to maintain transparency and accountability.

• Of the 93 Executive Branch agencies that employ law enforcement officers, 90 have certified to the Department that they have provided to the database all their responsive records (which could include a certification of “no records”). The remaining 3 agencies have contributed a portion of their responsive records and continue to produce records on a rolling basis, with completion of production anticipated in the coming months.

• Although agencies outside the Executive Branch are not obligated to use the NLEAD, several additional federal agencies have voluntarily committed to using NLEAD for their law enforcement officers, to increase transparency and accountability.  

• The database includes records of instances of misconduct and commendations for current and former federal law enforcement officers that occurred over the past seven years, and the Department will conduct regular periodic compliance reviews to assess data quality. The NLEAD.gov website is now live, serves as a clearinghouse for information about the NLEAD, and facilitates access to the database for authorized users. 

• To support law enforcement officer accountability efforts at the state and local level, the Department has awarded funding to the International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training (IADLEST) to expand its National Decertification Index (NDI). The NDI is a national registry of law enforcement de-certification and revocation actions relating to officer misconduct that is currently used by all 50 states and D.C., and the expansion will include the additional categories of information set forth in the Executive Order. In May 2024, IADLEST entered into an agreement with a technology vendor to launch an updated NDI within 12 months, with funding provided by the Department.

• Consistent with the Executive Order, the Department requires its components that employ law enforcement officers to utilize the NLEAD and NDI in making a decision involving an officer’s hiring, job assignment, promotion, or participation on a task force.

Grantmaking, Accreditation, and Guidance

To promote the adoption of the Executive Order’s policies by STLT law enforcement agencies and encourage best practices, the Justice Department:

• Grantmaking: In the last two fiscal years, the Department will have made available nearly $1 billion in discretionary grants funding in a manner that supports and promotes the adoption of the Executive Order’s policies by STLT law enforcement agencies. Starting with the FY23 grant cycle, in relevant solicitations, the Department included language outlining priority consideration for applicants who have policies or practices in line with certain substantive provisions of the Executive Order. The Department expanded the list of priority considerations in solicitations for FY24.
• Law Enforcement-Community Dialogues: In collaboration with the Divided Community Project at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, published guidance for federal and STLT law enforcement agencies on best practices for conducting law enforcement-community dialogues to improve relations and communication between law enforcement and communities, particularly following incidents involving use of deadly force.
• Officer Recruitment, Hiring, Promotion, and Retention: Published guidance for STLT law enforcement agencies on recruiting, hiring, promoting, and retaining highly-qualified and service-oriented law enforcement officers. Pursuant to the Executive Order, the Department’s law enforcement components have and will continue to strengthen their recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention practices and protocols. This includes ensuring that the components employ targeted recruitment strategies, offer pay incentives when available, and provide anti-bias training. Additionally, the Department’s law enforcement components are continuing to strengthen their screening processes, where necessary, for both employees and task force officers.
•  Law Enforcement Knowledge Lab: Launched in April 2022, the Knowledge Lab  is a national resource to improve public safety by identifying and disseminating fair and effective policing practices and providing technical assistance. In May 2024, the Knowledge Lab updated its searchable resource index of now nearly 300 resources and publications published by Department of Justice components and partners to assist police leaders, rank-and-file officers, community members, and policymakers in their search for evidence-based policing practices touching on core topics such as community trust and partnerships; mental health and crisis response; stops, searches, and arrests; use of force; response to mass demonstrations; and crime and violence response.
  • In May 2024, the Knowledge Lab also updated its Stops, Searches, and Arrests toolkit to include additional materials related to civil rights investigations involving stops and detentions, such as traffic stops.
• Accreditation Standards: Created first-of-their-kind accreditation standards from the Department to help further encourage STLT law enforcement agencies to adopt policies consistent with those highlighted in the Executive Order. These standards were developed in consultation with accrediting bodies, law enforcement stakeholders, and civil rights groups, and are designed to help ensure STLT law enforcement agencies seeking accreditation are following best policing practices in areas such as:
  • Hiring and performance evaluation of officers and supervisors;
  • Use of force policies in line with the Department’s policy;
  • Directives on the use of in-car and body-worn cameras; and
  • Submission of important crime data to the FBI. 
• Officer Wellness: Collaborated with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and engaged dozens of stakeholder groups to formulate and publish a report outlining best practices for STLT law enforcement agencies regarding officer wellness, including strategies on eliminating the stigma surrounding mental health, and a report on best practices for preventing law enforcement suicide.
• Interacting with Persons in Crisis: Collaborated with HHS and engaged stakeholders to publish guidance on best practices for responding to calls and interacting with persons in behavioral or mental health crisis, or with a disability. The guidance addresses response models and the facilitation of post-crisis support services as well as federal resources, including Medicaid, that can be used to implement established and emerging best practices.
• Notifications of Deaths in Custody: Published guidance for STLT law enforcement agencies on best practices for notifications to families of individuals who die in law enforcement custody, including timely and appropriate notification and support to family members.

Accountability

To increase law enforcement accountability, the Justice Department has addressed:

• Military-style weapons: Prohibited the transfer or use of Department federal grant funds by STLT law enforcement agencies to purchase certain military-style weapons and equipment.
• Death in Custody Investigations: Published guidance for STLT law enforcement agencies for investigating deaths in custody.
• Pattern and Practice and Civil Rights Investigations: Strengthened communication with State Attorneys General on pattern and practice investigations and enhanced protocols for federal criminal investigations of federal civil rights violations by law enforcement officers.
• Internal Investigations: Analyzed Department processes for investigating use of force incidents by the Department’s law enforcement agencies and will direct the FBI and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices to coordinate with internal agency administrative investigations on use of force investigations.

Conditions of Persons Incarcerated or Under Supervision

To improve conditions of confinement and promote better outcomes for individuals who are incarcerated or under supervision, the Justice Department:

• Restrictive Housing: Published a report on the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ (BOP) use of restrictive housing and efforts to reduce its use in BOP facilities, which included announcements that BOP is working with the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) on a study to review and provide recommendations regarding the BOP’s use of restrictive housing and has created a task force of senior BOP officials to conduct a nearer-term assessment and provide more immediate recommendations for steps the BOP may take regarding restrictive housing.
• Conditions of Confinement: Published a report outlining conditions of confinement for individuals in BOP and U.S. Marshals Service custody and planned steps to continue to improve medical care and health outcomes, expand services for women in custody, and Medication-Assisted Treatment for individuals with opioid use disorder.
• First Step Act: Published a report on efforts to fully implement the First Step Act, including by:
  • Maximizing the availability of time credits to eligible people in BOP custody;
  • Assessing and updating the PATTERN risk assessment tool;
  • Increasing the availability of Evidence-Based Recidivism Reduction programs;
  • Providing and expanding access to Medication Assisted Treatment for individuals with opioid substance use disorders; and
  • Evaluating and enhancing BOP’s rehabilitation and reentry programs.
• Probation and Supervised Release Resources: In consultation with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, and the Federal Defender Service, published a report on resources available to individuals on probation or supervised release, including how the Department has utilized resources to facilitate successful outcomes for these individuals.      

Data Collection

To improve data collection and analysis to help better inform the public, government leaders, and policymakers, the Justice Department:

• National Use of Force Data Collection: Provided training and technical assistance to Federal and STLT law enforcement agencies to increase and improve data to the FBI’s National Use-of-Force data collection program.
• Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted: Provided training and technical assistance to STLT law enforcement agencies to increase and improve data to the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted data collection program.
• Death in Custody Reporting Act: Published a report outlining steps the Department has taken to fully implement the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 (DCRA) and identified the following strategies to increase reporting and improve data collection overall.
  • The Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) bolstered staffing of the DCRA program, which now includes a dedicated team, to develop and support new and existing strategies for implementing DCRA.
  • In March 2023, BJA launched the DCRA Training and Technical Assistance Center with funding to the Justice Information Resource Network (JIRN). JIRN provides onsite and virtual training and technical assistance to State Administering Agencies (SAAs) and other DCRA reporters and produces materials that identify and describe additional data sources that may help SAAs provide complete and accurate reporting.
  • BJA also developed DCRA Compliance Guidelines that lay out the steps states must take to meet DCRA reporting requirements.
  • As part of their FY 2023 JAG funding applications, SAAs were required for the first time to submit DCRA State Implementation Plans with details about data collection infrastructure, data collection methods, and reporting methods. BJA and JIRN review and approve these plans and use them to help target training and technical assistance resources to pressing challenges. SAAs must submit a DCRA state implementation plan, or annual update, with their applications annually. The implementation plans are posted here.
  • A summary from the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), describing these steps and others, can be found here.
• National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS): Published a report on the efforts, led by the FBI and BJS, to assist STLT law enforcement agencies transition to NIBRS, the most comprehensive way for state and local agencies to submit crime data, including hate crime data, to the FBI.
  • Since January 2023, with assistance from FBI and BJS, 64 of the 129 law enforcement agencies serving populations over 100,000 that had not transitioned to NIBRS have now transitioned.
  • Since December 2023, BJS-funded cooperative agreements of $6.8 million under the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act are facilitating the improvement of data reported to law enforcement. The awards will implement a Rapid Deployment Model that targets select states and record management system service providers to quickly transition groups of law enforcement agencies to NIBRS.
• Review of Current Data Collections: Published a report with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on efforts to improve current data collections, such as the National Crime Victimization Survey, the Police-Public Contact Survey Supplement, and the Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics Survey.
  • BJS implemented new questions on police performance and community safety beginning with the 2024 National Crime Victimization Survey, which plays a critical role in understanding crime and victimization regardless of whether the victimization is reported to law enforcement.
• Data Reporting: As part of the Equitable Data Working Group, assessed data collection and transparency practices with respect to law enforcement activities and published a report and recommendations outlining what actions the federal government, lawmakers, law enforcement, and advocates can take to advance better data reporting.
• Mental Health Resources to Communities Impacted by Law Enforcement Uses of Force: In collaboration with HHS and OMB, published a report outlining what resources are available for individuals and communities affected by incidents of use of force by law enforcement officers.
   

Guidance on the Use of a Protected Characteristic

The Justice Department, in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security, has updated its Guidance on the Use of Race, Ethnicity, Gender, National Origin, Religion, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity (Guidance).

• The Guidance, originally released in 2003 and last updated in 2014, has been updated to:
  • Set forth a single clear standard for when Federal law enforcement may consider a protected characteristic;
  • Add disability as a protected characteristic;
  • Expand application of the Guidance beyond Federal law enforcement officers to include analysts, attorneys, paralegals, contractors, and other Federal law enforcement personnel engaged in or supporting Federal law enforcement activities; and
  • Set benchmarks and timelines for the development and implementation of training, data collection, and accountability provisions.
• The Department, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Management, also developed training modules for all federal law enforcement officers on implicit bias and avoiding improper profiling, consistent with the updated Guidance.

Justice Department Use of Force and Other Standards

The Executive Order required that all Federal law enforcement agencies use the Justice Department’s updated polices on the use of force, the prohibition of chokeholds and carotid restraints, limiting the use of no-knock entries, and the appropriate use of body- worn cameras as models for their own policies:

• Use of Force Policy: In May 2022, the Department updated its use of force policy to:
  • Emphasize the importance of valuing and preserving human life;
  • Allow the use of deadly force only when necessary, that is, when the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or another person;
  • Require training in and employing where feasible de-escalation tactics and techniques;
  • Explicitly include the affirmative duty to intervene to prevent or stop another officer from using excessive force or any other use of force that violates the Constitution, other federal laws, or Department policies on the reasonable use of force;
  • Explicitly include the affirmative duty to request and/or render medical aid, as appropriate;
  • Require training no less than annually on the Department’s policy; and
  • Require that the policy be made publicly available on the Department’s website.
• Chokeholds and No-Knock Entry Policy: In September 2021, the Department issued a policy banning chokeholds and carotid restraints unless deadly force is authorized and, except in exceptional circumstances, limiting the use of “no-knock” entries, even in some circumstances where the law would allow it. 
  • Published annual reports regarding no-knock entries in May 2023 and May 2024.
• Body-worn Cameras: In June 2021, the Department issued a policy on the appropriate use of body-worn cameras (BWC) that required Department law enforcement agencies to develop policies that require agents to wear and activate BWC recording equipment for purposes of recording their actions during a pre-planned attempt to serve a search warrant or other pre-planned arrest or the execution of a search or seizure warrant, and included a presumption that BWC recordings depicting conduct resulting in serious bodily injury or death of another will be released as soon as practical.

Strategic Plan to Advance the Goals of Alternatives and Reentry Committee

The Executive Order established the Federal Interagency Alternatives and Reentry Committee and called on the Attorney General to develop a Department-wide strategic plan for advancing the Committee’s three chief goals: safely reducing unnecessary criminal justice interactions, supporting rehabilitation during incarceration, and facilitating reentry into society of people with criminal records.

In April 2023, the Justice Department released its Strategic Plan, entitled, Rehabilitation, Reentry, and Reaffirming Trust, outlining an ambitious roadmap for operationalizing the Committee’s goals within the federal justice system and among states and localities nationwide. Over the past year, the Department has worked to bring that vision to life, and the Department’s efforts to-date have yielded meaningful and tangible progress across all three goals:

Safely Reducing Criminal Justice System Interactions

• Promoting community-based solutions for addressing less serious offenses. In the past year, the Department has invested $6 million to support three communities as they develop and test community-driven models for addressing less serious and low-level offenses, as alternatives to traditional law enforcement mechanisms, easing burden on officers and strengthening public safety.
   
• Supporting diversion and comprehensive continuums of first response. The Department has made significant investments in the implementation and evaluation of co-responder models and diversion strategies that connect individuals with behavioral health disorders to community-based resources and alternatives to arrest or incarceration, in appropriate cases. In the past year, the Department has invested more than $17 million in police-behavioral health cross-system collaboration models designed to improve outcomes for individuals with mental health disorders or co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders who come into contact with law enforcement. The Department has delivered an additional $116 million to states and localities to implement comprehensive approaches to reducing overdose deaths, promoting public safety, and expanding access to prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery services in both the community and the justice system.
   
• Investing in problem-solving courts. The Department’s grants are supporting problem-solving courts that divert people with substance use disorders into judicially supervised treatment programs in appropriate cases, with a focus on promoting equity and mitigating disparate outcomes for participants. The Department has invested approximately $115 million to support problem-solving court programs in the last year alone.
   
• Supporting Community-Based Services for Young People. The Department is investing in promising and evidence-based services designed to prevent delinquency and juvenile justice system involvement, ultimately helping to strengthen safety and improve long term outcomes for young people. In the past year, the Department launched a new program that has invested over $17 million to help states and localities develop community-based continuums of care for youth involved in or at risk of entering the juvenile justice system, with a focus on positive youth development, prevention, diversion, and treatment services. The Department has also announced a partnership with AmeriCorps to provide grants to community-based programs that will enhance and expand services for justice-involved youth, which includes engaging those youth as AmeriCorps members.

Supporting Rehabilitation During Incarceration

• Supporting correctional education and employment programs. In September 2023, the Department announced over $23 million in funding for state- and local-level correctional services that expand access to high school equivalent degrees, vocational training, and other certifications. The Department has delivered support to correctional and educational institutions to help scale up post-secondary educational opportunities in prisons and take advantage of the reinstatement of Pell Grant eligibility for incarcerated students, which took effect in July 2023 after a nearly 30-year ban. Forty-four state corrections departments are now “Pell-ready” and have established processes to select and approve post-secondary education providers. BOP is also expanding access to Pell Grants within federal correctional facilities to help incarcerated students earn college credits and/or a college degree.
• Delivering jail-specific solutions. In November 2023, the Department launched the Jails and Justice Support Center, a national training and technical assistance hub that is now partnering with jail administrators to help establish safe and humane environments that effectively serve residents, visitors, and staff. The Department issued guidance to support the effective management of substance withdrawal in local jails in June 2023, and is now developing resources to help facilitate implementation of these practices in the field. And in partnership with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Department launched the second cohort of the Building Bridges initiative in September 2023, delivering assistance for 10 additional jurisdictions as they develop comprehensive continua of care for individuals with opioid use disorder in jails and upon release.
• Reducing barriers for eligible voters. To help protect the fundamental right to vote in jails, where most individuals are eligible to vote since jails are largely comprised of people awaiting trial or those serving misdemeanor sentences that do not preclude voting and developed resources that combat misinformation on voter eligibility, explain state-specific voter rights for incarcerated persons, and promote strategies for expanding voter registration and access. BOP has increased voting education for all incarcerated adults and expanded voter registration and engagement for those eligible to vote while serving their federal sentence.

• Expanding access to civil legal services. To aid in the prompt resolution of pending civil legal issues – such as debt collection, access to benefits or child custody matters – that can help support successful reentry and promote public safety, the Department is launching an innovative pilot program to provide civil legal services to incarcerated individuals in select BOP women’s facilities.

Facilitating Reentry for People with Criminal Records

• Reducing barriers to government-issued identification. Because people often leave incarceration without a state-issued identification, a common pre-requisite to housing, employment, and other basic societal functions, BOP developed a Release Identification Card that formerly incarcerated individuals may use to obtain a state- issued ID upon return to the community. The ID is currently available to all releasing citizens at all institutions who lack valid state identification, and 23 states currently accept the ID to obtain a state-issued ID. To date, over 3,000 ID cards have been issued. In May, BOP Director Collette Peters sent a letter to Motor Vehicle Divisions in all 50 states and D.C. to encourage states to accept the BOP ID as valid proof of identity and/or residency of the card holder.
• Investing in correctional and reentry programs nationwide. The Department awarded almost $95 million in the past year to support a wide range of correctional and reentry services and related training and technical assistance designed to meet the needs of youth and adults during incarceration or detention and upon return to their communities. As part of these investments, the Department launched a new initiative to strengthen the reentry ecosystem by funding intermediary organizations that are now delivering microgrants and capacity building assistance to community-based reentry service providers. OJP has expanded its cohort of Second Chance Fellows, whose professional expertise and lived experience in the justice system are helping inform the Department’s efforts to promote reentry success.
• Improving health coverage and continuity of care. The Department has worked with federal partners and stakeholders in the field over the past year to build awareness of Medicaid 1115 demonstration authorities, an opportunity announced in April 2023 for states to improve care transitions for certain individuals nearing release from incarceration, as well as other related tools for improving continuity of care pre- and post-release. Building on these efforts, the Department is developing new informational resources to increase understanding of the opportunity among corrections’ stakeholders and will launch a new policy academy for state corrections and Medicaid leaders to build capacity for collaborations that strengthen connections to health care coverage for individuals returning from incarceration.
• Improving community supervision outcomes. The Department-funded Community Supervision Resource Center launched in October 2023 to provide pretrial, probation, and parole supervision agencies with the resources and assistance they need to align operations with best and evidence-based practices for improving outcomes for individuals on supervision. The Department also awarded nearly $6.5 million to states and localities in 2023 to implement research-driven strategies for promoting supervision success.
• Piloting a medical-legal partnership. The Department announced a partnership that will connect medical and legal expertise to identify adults in BOP custody who require long-term access to post-release critical needs like housing, food security, and more. Specifically, this medical-legal partnership will include a team of law and medical professionals who will collaborate to better determine eligibility for, and ensure access to, Social Security disability relief for those who qualify, with the goal of improving long-term access to post-release critical needs and promoting successful reentry. BOP and ATJ are also working to develop and distribute self-help materials to address civil legal needs of adults in custody and a series of workshops focused on civil legal issues.
• Addressing unjust and unlawful fines and fees. The Department issued a Dear Colleague Letter for state and local courts and juvenile justice agencies that addresses common court-imposed fines and fees practices and cautions against those practices that may be unlawful and unfairly penalize individuals who are unable to pay or otherwise have a discriminatory effect. Building on this letter, the Department released a report that highlights the most common and innovative approaches taking place across the country to reduce reliance on criminal and civil fines and fees. The Department also launched a new initiative to provide training and assistance to help states and localities to address common barriers to creating a more equitable justice system by rethinking the use of fines and fees.