The murder of George Floyd drew global attention to the subjects of policing and racism in America and countries around the world. Over the last year, conversations about racial equity and what that means and what that looks like have been had. For a few states changes in legislation have occurred and for many organizations, education has been implemented for its employees. The fight for racial equity and police accountability is ongoing and will take a whole community approach to achieve. While steps taken at the state and local level are extremely important one big question remains:  What will be done at the federal level to implement meaningful change in policing nationwide?

Only the Supreme Court or Congress can create legislative change at the national level. The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act is an attempt on behalf of progressives at creating this meaningful change at the national level. Generally speaking, the act addresses issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It increases police accountability for misconduct, limits qualified immunity, bans the use of certain practices, creates a national registry (The National Police Misconduct Registry), enhances transparency, and establishes best practices, training, and education requirements. While talk of this bill has been ongoing and many support it, it’s important to know what the bill actually consists of.

Highlights of the Justice in Policing Act include the following:

  • Lowers the criminal standard of intent from willful to knowing and reckless. This means that the standard needed to convict a police officer who has committed misconduct is lowered and theoretically would hold more police officers and not make it so difficult to prosecute them federally.
  • Limits qualified immunity. Qualified immunity protects police officers (and other state and local officials) from being personally liable for violations unless it’s determined they violated an individual, “clearly established statutory or constitutional rights”. The problem with this is that the law doesn’t define what clearly established means and often a person needs to present a past case with nearly identical circumstances to win their case.
  • Creates The National Police Misconduct Registry. This registry compiles data on complaints and police misconduct and establishes new reporting requirements for use of force, officer misconduct, and routine practices.
  • Bans chokeholds, carotid holds, and “no-knock” search warrants at the federal level.
  • States and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding would have to adopt the same restriction that bans chokeholds, carotid holds, and “no-knock” search warrants. 
  • Local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding will be required to adopt anti-discrimination policies and training programs. 
  • Requires the use of body cameras and dashboard cameras
  • Restricts the militarization of the police by limiting the transferring military equipment to police. 

The highlights above cover some, not all, of the items outlined in the bill. It should be noted that many of these restrictions apply mainly to federal law enforcement officers but do require state and local law enforcement agencies that receive federal funding to comply with some of the restrictions.* That’s important because the federal government is a huge source of revenue for local police departments through grants and programs they implement. 

The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act was introduced in the US House of Representatives at the beginning of June of 2020. The House passed the bill on June 25, 2020. The bill then moved on to the Senate where it faced opposition by Republican senators where qualified immunity and the federal restriction of police use of deadly force became two of the largest points of dispute. The bill faced gridlock in July of 2020 and for the remainder of the year, despite bipartisan attempts at negotiation, did not advance.  The arguments of many who oppose the bill revolve around the belief that this bill would prevent law enforcement from properly carrying out their duties, and that it overreaches on states’ rights.  The bill was reintroduced to the House in February 2021 in an attempt to get a bill passed before the anniversary of George Floyd’s death. Once again it passed in the House but has faced obstacles in the Senate which remains held up on the provisions as before. Republican senators have introduced an alternative bill but that has been rejected by most Democrats as being too narrow in scope. Currently, bipartisan negotiations are continuing though it seems that the discussion on qualified immunity will continue to be a long one so there is no clear answer one when this bill (or one similar to it) will be passed. 

This bill creates a foundation for nationwide police accountability and tackles some of the largest reasons that police officers who are guilty of violating civil rights or use of excessive force are not held liable for their actions. Communities that are most highly impacted by over-policing and police officer misconduct would see changes in the police practices used within their community. Because much of the change is happening at the federal level, the changes will include federal government agencies such as Customs and Borders Patrol and ICE. Theoretically, this means a more humane treatment of all individuals who encounter judical authorities including immigrants who are in CBP or ICE custody. While this is a positive step in real legislative change, the question of whether it will pass at all remains. This last year opened many important topics up for conversation and while this bill is taking a long time to get passed it is good to see that an attempt is being made at the legislative and federal level. Is it enough? No. We still have a long way to go but it’s a start.

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