Safe Policing for Safe Communities
The order directs the Justice Department to tie federal grant funding to state and local police departments' participation in independent credentialing and a new use-of-force data-sharing system, and requires credentialing bodies to confirm that agencies prohibit chokeholds except when deadly force is legally permitted.
It establishes a national framework for police accountability through financial incentives rather than direct mandates, while also directing federal agencies to expand mental health and co-responder resources for communities.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs the Attorney General to condition Department of Justice discretionary grant funding on state and local law enforcement agencies seeking certification from independent credentialing bodies. Those bodies must confirm that agencies' use-of-force policies comply with applicable law and prohibit chokeholds except where deadly force is legally authorized. The Attorney General must also create a national database tracking excessive use-of-force incidents, officer decertifications and terminations under investigation, criminal convictions for on-duty conduct, and civil judgments — and must publish anonymized, aggregated data publicly. Grant funding is further conditioned on agencies submitting data to that database. The Attorney General must develop and propose legislation to Congress to support the order's goals.
Separately, the Secretary of Health and Human Services must survey community-support models for mental health, homelessness, and addiction and deliver a report with funding recommendations within 90 days. The order does not itself prohibit any policing technique, establish a new regulatory requirement, or mandate that state or local agencies change their policies — compliance is voluntary but tied to access to federal grant money.
Who it affects
State and local law enforcement agencies that receive or seek Department of Justice discretionary grants, independent credentialing organizations seeking Attorney General certification, law enforcement officers whose disciplinary records may be entered in the new federal database, and communities served by co-responder and mental health programs.
Why it matters
Police departments that depend on DOJ discretionary grant funding will need to pursue credentialing and feed data into a national use-of-force database to remain eligible. Officers who are fired, decertified, or convicted for on-duty conduct may appear in a shared federal database accessible to other agencies considering hiring them.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
The order works through two grant conditions: agencies must seek credentialing and must submit use-of-force data to the new DOJ database. The Attorney General sets the standards for certifying credentialing bodies and for what data the database must capture. HHS surveys community models independently and reports to the President within 90 days; that report triggers a second directive to prioritize resources for implementing recommended models. The order contains a standard severability clause and explicitly creates no enforceable legal rights against the government.
Actions and deadlines
- Allocate DOJ discretionary grant funding only to agencies seeking independent credentialing
- Set standards for and certify independent credentialing bodies, including chokehold-policy requirements
- Engage credentialing bodies to develop cost-effective processes accessible to agencies of all sizes
- Create a national database tracking excessive use-of-force incidents, officer decertifications, convictions, and civil judgments
- Periodically publish aggregated and anonymized data from the use-of-force database
- Condition DOJ discretionary grants on agencies submitting required use-of-force data to the database
- Identify and develop training opportunities for law enforcement on mental health, homelessness, and addiction encounters
- Survey community-support models for mental health, homelessness, and addiction and deliver a report with funding recommendations to the President
- Develop and propose policing-reform legislation to Congress covering credentialing, training, officer retention, and community engagement