Last week, Rep. William Timmons (SC-04) joined Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-08) and other colleagues in introducing companion legislation in the House to Senator Tim Scott’s bill, the Just and Unifying Solutions to Invigorate Communities Everywhere (JUSTICE) Act. The JUSTICE Act works to restore the broken trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve and is the most significant police reform legislation in 25 years.

“Our nation is hurting and crying out for real change to address racial inequality,” said Rep. William Timmons (SC-04). “This legislation delivers reform, transparency, and accountability by streamlining data collection across law enforcement agencies, improving training for our police officers, holding officers who fail to uphold their oath accountable, and by providing funding for body cameras. I am grateful for Senator Scott’s continued leadership on this issue and urge my colleagues to support these bipartisan proposals to create lasting solutions for the American people.”

“In order to truly make progress on public safety, and unite this nation, it is imperative to rebuild trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve,” said Rep. Pete Stauber (MN-08). “The JUSTICE Act will do just that by implementing community policing best practices, creating transparency when it comes to reporting incidents with law enforcement, and holding officers and departments alike accountable for their actions. Delivering lasting reform should not be a partisan issue, and I am looking forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on this important issue. Our nation is calling for change, and I am confident that we will rise to the occasion.”

The JUSTICE Act also contains the Walter Scott Notification Act, introduced in the House by Rep. Timmons earlier this month. 

The full text of the JUSTICE Act can be found here, and a summary can be found below.

Improving Law Enforcement Transparency:

• Require annual reports on the use of force that involves death, serious bodily injury, or the discharge of a firearm, by law enforcement and against law enforcement.
• Mandate reports on the use of “no-knock” warrants, and whether the warrant application was accurate, if force was used, or if a death or injury occurs.

Ensuring Law Enforcement Accountability:

• Require law enforcement agencies to maintain and share disciplinary records for officer hiring considerations.
• Provide $500 million for state and local law enforcement agencies to equip all officers with body cameras, improve use of body cameras, and store and retain footage.
• Increase criminal penalties for any individual who knowingly and willfully falsifies a police report.

Improving Officer Performance:

• Incentivize chokehold bans by withholding federal dollars to any law enforcement agency that has not implemented a chokehold ban, in conformance with the 2017 Law Enforcement Consensus Policy.
• Direct the Attorney General to develop training curricula, and certify public and private entities to offer training, regarding the duty of a law enforcement officer to intervene when another law enforcement officer is engaged in excessive force.
• Require the Department of Justice to develop and provide training that will enable law enforcement officers to better serve their communities with a focus on de-escalation techniques and law enforcement interaction with mentally ill individuals.
• Help implement community policing by reauthorizing the Department of Justice’s COPS on the Beat and Byrne JAG grant programs, whose authorization of appropriations lapsed in 2009 and 2012, respectively.

Additional Steps:

• Make lynching a federal crime.
• Create a bipartisan Commission to report on conditions affecting black men and boys, including education, health care, financial status, and the criminal justice system.

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