After the killings of numerous black people at the hands of police in 2020, Americans nationwide have demanded meaningful change to our current policing laws. In response to the public calls for justice and transformation, Congress introduced two pieces of policing reform legislation: The George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the JUSTICE Act.
The Justice in Policing Act (H.R. 7120/S. 3912) passed the House on June 25, 2020 and has been introduced in the Senate. The Justice in Policing Act would not solve the crisis of police violence, but it would represent an important step towards accountability by addressing systemic racism through actionable policy.
Meanwhile, Republican leaders in the Senate have introduced the JUSTICE Act (S. 3985), which falls short of making some of the concrete changes needed in this moment. See a comparison below of the Justice in Policing Act and the JUSTICE Act.
