FBI Director Christopher Wray told members the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE) attending a conference in Baton Rouge, Louisiana that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has reached a milestone in the National Use-of-Force Data Collection that will allow the agency to release more information on police use-of-force incidents in the near future.
The data collection, which aims to provide national statistics on police use-of-force incidents, recently reached a 60% participation rate.
The FBI released some information at the 40% participation threshold last year. The soon-to-be-released data will include information on things like types of force used and resistance encountered.
More data can be released once 80% of total law enforcement officers are represented in the data collection.
“Because once we get to the 80% mark, we’ll be able to share even more data and insight into use-of-force incidents,” Wray said. “And we can give the public the necessary facts, and I believe, strengthen our nation’s confidence in law enforcement.”
Since 1976, NOBLE has served as the conscience of law enforcement by being committed to justice by action.
NOBLE has nearly 60 chapters and represents over 3,000 members worldwide that represent chief executive officers and command-level law enforcement officials from federal, state, county, municipal law enforcement agencies, and criminal justice practitioners.
Wray also addressed a variety of other topics of interest to law enforcement in his remarks, e the conference also featured panel discussion about important issues.
Attorneys General Letitia James of New York, Kwame Raoul of Illinois, and Keith Ellison of Minnesota discussed holding both individual police officers, as well as law enforcement agencies responsible for effectively delivering basic services of crime control and maintaining order, while treating individuals fairly and within the bounds of law.
The growing threat of hate-motivated domestic terrorism from White supremacists and other far-right-wing extremists was a topic for a panel consisting of Jay Greenberg, deputy assistant FBI director of the Criminal Investigative Division, DHS Assistant Secretary John Cohen, National Urban League Senior Vice President of Equitable Justice Jerika Richardson, Facebook Associate General Counsel and Civil Rights Director Cynthia Deitle, along with Gregory Ehrie, vice president of law enforcement for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).
Wray discussed violence against law enforcement, data collections, and violent crime reduction at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives’ Winter CEO Symposium.
Wray reiterated the FBI’s commitment to investigating the recent threats to Historically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs) and houses of worship.
More than 30 of the FBI’s 56 field offices are now involved in this investigation, pursuing leads all over the country.
More than 50 FBI violent crime task forces across the country are working with local law enforcement to address the troubling surge in violent crime in recent years.
In some of the hardest hit cities, the FBI’s violent crime rapid deployment teams are creating strategies to reduce those offenses.
“We all know that—at all levels of government—our most fundamental duty is to safeguard people’s right to live without fear of violence,” Wray said.
“We all know that—at all levels of government—our most fundamental duty is to safeguard people’s right to live without fear of violence.”
The FBI continues to be concerned about violence against law enforcement. Wray noted that nearly half of the officers who were killed in the line of duty last year were ambushed.
“These are tough times in our profession. And every chance I get, I try to remind the public, members of Congress and others, really anybody who will listen, about the dedication and bravery that you and your people, the men and women of law enforcement, show every day, as they serve our communities,” Wray said.
In addition to the national use-of-force data collection, Wray urged law enforcement leaders to participate in the FBI’s other processes of gathering and measuring information, especially the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) and the new Law Enforcement Suicide Data Collection (LESDC). NIBRS provides detailed crime data, while the LESDC aims to help understand and prevent suicides in law enforcement.
“I firmly believe that this data is going to be vital for all of us as we continue making the physical and mental health of our people a priority,” Wray said.
Absent from the official agenda was the suspicion among some of America’s military allies who believe that disgraced former President Donald Trump deliberately attempted a coup d’etat and that he may have had help from federal law-enforcement officials.
In the 14 months since a mob of Trump-loving terrorists stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, more than 775 individuals have been arrested for crimes related to the attempted coup d’etat, including over 245 individuals charged with assaulting law enforcement officers.
The investigation remains ongoing, but some FBI sources said that Trump and his closest advisors are not a focus of the criminal probe, even as evidence obtained by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol appears to confirm that such a plot existed.
“The Select Committee is investigating a violent attack on the Capitol and an attempt to overturn the 2020 Election.” said spokesperson Tim Mulvey. “Between Election Day 2020 and January 6th, the RNC and the Trump campaign solicited donations by pushing false claims that the election was tainted by widespread fraud. These emails encouraged supporters to put pressure on Congress to keep President Trump in power.”
“Claims about a stolen election motivated rioters who stormed the Capitol on January 6th.
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