The U.S. needs to track police killings nationally

Hi there—MoveOn members in your area are taking action on this important issue, and we thought you might want to add your voice.

Sign the petition: The U.S. needs to track police killings nationally

By Rashad Robinson, Executive Director of ColorOfChange.org

Tell the U.S. Attorney General of the Department of Justice:

Michael Brown. Eric Garner. Walter Scott. Freddie Gray. How many Black and brown people are killed by police every year? Even as communities of color suffer great losses, national leaders are not collecting data on the scale of police use of force and violence, although a bill recently passed by Congress gives the attorney general all the power necessary to gather this critical information.

It's time for the Department of Justice to collect and publish official nationwide data on police killings, the use of force, and arrests, broken down by race and other demographic factors. When doing this, the DOJ must provide key privacy protections, including the exclusion of personally identifying information and deportation immunity for civilians.

Dear MoveOn member,

The Bureau of Justice Statistics keeps detailed records about crime throughout the country, providing an invaluable resource to track trends and to help legislators and law enforcement agencies determine how to allocate resources. However, it does not currently track the number of police killings across the United States, or any details about those encounters or the victims—although it has the power to do so.¹

The lack of comprehensive statistics about police shootings feels like willful ignorance on the part of the federal government. This record is crucial for determining patterns of violence and creating the solutions we need to ensure all communities are safe and secure.

Police forces around the country receive federal support. It's time for the federal government to mandate that police departments provide detailed information about police killings as a requirement to receive federal funds.

Tell the U.S. Attorney General of the Department of Justice to make this information available in a transparent and timely fashion.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

–Rashad Robinson, ColorOfChange.org

P.S. This petition currently has 3973 signatures. We have a NEW goal of 4000 signatures! Can you help get us there?

Source:

1. "Congress decides to get serious about tracking police shootings," The Washington Post, December 11, 2014
http://www.moveon.org/r/?r=304430&id=116347-10220574-B3f7Vvx&t=1

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