A new report from Congress’s watchdog agency is critical of the U.S. Justice Department’s handling of excessive force allegations made against law enforcement.
The lengthy audit covers the Civil Rights Division that’s investigating the city of Phoenix and its police department.
A sweeping federal review of Phoenix police and the city has been underway for months. One area of focus are allegations that the Phoenix Police Department uses excessive force.
Now Congress’s Government Accountability Office says Justice Department entities, such as the Civil Rights Division, are siloed when it comes to systematically tracking information on thousands of police brutality allegations.
The Division also reportedly lacks a process for using data to analyze trends and uncover possible patterns of police misconduct.
And the report says officials can’t make sure the Division does timely investigations of serious allegations against law enforcement.
