Audio Transcript

Mollie Halpern: Law enforcement’s first and only national database to collect information specifically about use-of-force launches in July with a six-month pilot study.

The FBI’s National Use-of-Force Data Collection will provide an aggregate view of situations resulting in the death or serious bodily injury of a person and when a law enforcement officer discharges a firearm at or in the direction of another person.

FBI Unit Chief Amy Blasher says the pilot study will ensure the quality of the data.

Amy Blasher: It's testing the process and then making sure that the content that we will receive is within scope of the collection, that we're meeting the intended goal.

Halpern: The repository has the support of the nation’s local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement, who will voluntarily submit the information. Doug Middleton is the deputy county manager for public safety in Henrico County, Virginia.

Doug Middleton: This database is going to allow those agencies to have access to data that will help them in the process of decision-making and professionalization of their organizations. This database is monumental. It is history-making.

Halpern: The National Use-of-Force Data Collection is expected to begin in early 2018. The findings, noting trends and characteristics of the data, will be publicly released on a periodic basis. I’m Mollie Halpern of the Bureau with FBI, This Week.

Resources

• More on the National Use-of-Force Data Collection