Resources

Since the 2020 general election, state lawmakers across the country have introduced legislation that would dramatically criminalize voting activity. Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting has collected and analyzed those bills into this first-of-its-kind database.

Reveal used records from LegiScan, which catalogs virtually every bill introduced by state-level lawmakers in all 50 states, to identify and classify the bills.

Each database entry contains information about the bill’s provisions, when it was introduced, the political party of its sponsors and its latest status, according to LegiScan. Bills that are marked as “carried over” were moved into the next legislative session. In some cases, there are repeat entries for a bill because it was introduced multiple times in the same or different legislative chambers. The database logs bills introduced from Nov. 16, 2020, to Oct. 19, 2022.

This report details the allotment of financial aid to federal, state, and local agencies during the COVID-19 crisis, including money to the CDC to develop surveillance technology and to law enforcement, homeland security, and the military.

California’s passage into law of Senate Bill 1421 allows for the public disclosure of investigations into police officers for misconduct (e.g., use of force, lying, sexual assault, etc.). Additionally, Assembly Bill 748 contains new disclosure provisions, broadly allowing audio and video recordings of “critical incidents” to be released to the public. This paper is intended to inform readers about the new laws, what they cover, how to respond to California Public Records Act requests for disclosable records, and how to deal with competing viewpoints regarding interpretation of the statutes.

An interactive map to explore legislation on criminal justice reform in each state, including policing.

Legislation that makes it “easier” to prosecute police over misusing deadly force by removing the need to prove malice. Summary of changes from the Seattle Met:
1) It makes the “good faith” standard objective rather than subjective – another officer in a similar situation also needs to have believed use of deadly force was necessary
2) It still requires police to undergo de-escalation training every year but doesn’t list it as a condition of maintaining certification
3) It changes the requirement to render first aid to the “earliest safe opportunity,” to cover cases in which it’s not safe for the cop to apply first aid immediately
4) It requires that the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission also seek input from police unions and minority law enforcement associations on adopting the rules

A report covering the second year monitoring plan of the Newark Police Department. 

A report covering the first year monitoring plan of the Newark Police Department. 

An Executive Order relating to effective and conditional policing, creating the Community Police Commission and establishing functions and prescribing duties consistent with the settlement agreement and memorandum of understanding entered into between the United States and the City of Seattle.

By-Laws for the Seattle Community Police Commission, the oversight and monitoring board of the Seattle Police Department. The Seattle Community Police Commission was created after the findings from a US DOJ investigation finding patterns of bias and constitutional violations regarding the use of force.