Critical data on law enforcement

Opinion editor's note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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In yet another step toward improving police accountability, last week the Biden administration's Justice Department announced the creation of database to track of misconduct by federal law enforcement officers.

It's important to collect and share that information so that other agencies won't unknowingly hire officers with records of using excessive force or engaging in other unacceptable behavior.

Under the new rule, federal agencies must report and update data on officers who faced criminal convictions, terminations, civil judgments, suspensions or who resigned or retired while under investigation. The agencies must also keep records about sustained complaints or disciplinary actions for serious misconduct such as excessive force, sexual misconduct or findings of bias or discrimination.

In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris said that when police officers abuse their authority, they undermine public trust and threaten the right to equal justice under the law.

"The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database will ensure that federal agencies have ready access to records of serious misconduct when hiring federal law enforcement officers," Harris said.

The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database currently includes only former and current Justice Department officers who have records of serious misconduct over the last seven years. It will be expanded in the next two months to capture other federal law enforcement agencies such as the Secret Service and U.S. Park Police, according to the DOJ.

Attorney General Merrick Garland told the Associated Press that the database will give federal agencies "an important new tool for vetting and hiring officers and agents that will help strengthen our efforts" to build and retain the public's trust.

"No law enforcement agency — including the Justice Department — can effectively do its work without the trust of the public," Garland told the AP in an emailed statement.

Some social justice groups and the American Civil Liberties Union rightly praised the executive order but noted that even more must be done about police misconduct. The ACLU, for example, called reforming policing an "urgent priority" that requires "brave and sustained commitment across all levels of government as well as collaboration with communities that have been most harmed by police violence."

Having access to that background information about officers at all levels of law enforcement matters for cities such as Minneapolis, which will soon be operating under a DOJ consent decree because of a federal investigation of the Police Department. The federal report, which was released last summer, found that the department has used excessive force, including unjustified deadly force, and has unlawfully discriminated against Black and Native people as well as people with behavioral health disabilities.

The International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training's national repository for officer decertification has records from 49 state agencies, but its use is voluntary and does not include information on several types of discipline, the AP has reported. If more local agencies participated with more robust records, it could help prevent bad cops from getting new jobs in other cities and states.

Most law enforcement officers enter the field for the right reasons — to protect and serve their country, states and communities. Those who go rogue tarnish the entire profession and, in some cases, put good officers in danger.