Stevens Statement on Justice in Policing Act

WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Haley Stevens (MI-11) announced her support for the Justice in Policing Act of 2020, a comprehensive approach to hold police accountable and build trust between law enforcement and our communities.

The Justice in Policing Act of 2020 will take key steps to achieve transformational, structural change, including:

• removing barriers to prosecuting police misconduct and recovering damages from officers who have violated civilians’ rights;
• combating police brutality, including by requiring body and dashboard cameras, banning chokeholds, ending the use of no-knock warrants in drug cases and enacting steps to end racial profiling;
• stepping up pressure on the Justice Department to address systemic racial discrimination by law enforcement;
• and finally making lynching a federal hate crime, as the House did in passing H.R. 35 earlier this year.

“This is an inflection point for our country, and Congress must act to address the issues of police brutality and racial discrimination,” said Congresswoman Stevens. “The Justice in Policing Act will support additional training, community-oriented policing, body and dashboard cameras, and other measures to increase accountability and transparency for law enforcement. This legislation will also make lynching a federal crime, a long-overdue step that passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support earlier this year. We have to pursue real reform to build a strong basis of trust between police departments and the communities they serve.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

A section-by-section summary of the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 is available here.

A fact sheet on the Justice in Policing Act of 2020 is available here.

In addition to the Justice in Policing Act, Congresswoman Stevens cosponsored the Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys Act, a bipartisan bill introduced by Rep. Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) to create a Commission to examine the social disparities that disproportionately affect black men and boys in America. The Commission, which will be housed within the United States Commission on Civil Rights, will propose measures to alleviate and remedy the underlying causes of the adverse social conditions that are a reality for too many black men and boys. These recommendations will be sent to the president, the president’s cabinet, and to Congress and the relevant committees of jurisdiction.

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