Washington, D.C., October 14, 2025 – Earlier this month, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, National Police Accountability Project, Black Lives Matter, D.C., National Immigration Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Human Rights Data Analysis Group submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking information about the construction, operation, and decommissioning of a national database designed to increase police accountability and oversight. 

The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD) was established in 2023 to advance new practices in law enforcement recruitment, hiring, promotion, and retention, as well as training, oversight, and accountability. The NLEAD was a centralized hub that tracked instances of federal law enforcement officer misconduct. In an initial report covering the first nine months of the NLEAD’s operation, there were 4,790 records of federal officer misconduct for the period from 2018-2023, with the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security accounting for 88% of those incidents. 

“Without a centralized database of federal records, hiring agencies have no easy way to tell if their law enforcement candidates have a history of past misconduct,” said Delia Addo-Yobo, U.S. Senior Staff Attorney at Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. “Dismantling the NLEAD enables problematic officers to jump from job to job, creating a culture of impunity and a greater risk of law enforcement overreach and abuse.”

The NLEAD was created to strengthen hiring practices, enabling federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to ascertain whether current or past federal officers had a history of misconduct before extending a job offer. But despite its stated intent, the NLEAD was dismantled before state and local law enforcement were ever granted access to the database. At present, neither federal nor state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement agencies have any effective mechanism to determine if eligible job applicants have a history of serious misconduct or a disciplinary record during their time as a federal law enforcement officer.

“The NLEAD tracked essential information about federal officer misconduct,” said Bridget Pranzatelli of the National Immigration Project. “These are the same federal officers who are now roaming American cities and harming so many of our community members—citizens and non-citizens alike. It is imperative that we push for more information regarding law enforcement abuses generally and the elimination of NLEAD in particular.”

The FOIA seeks documentation on the development and operation of the NLEAD and on the federal government’s policies, directives, expenditures, and actions relating to the NLEAD and its decommissioning. The request is currently pending. 

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Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (“RFKHR”) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that has worked to realize Robert F. Kennedy’s dream of a more just and peaceful world since 1968. In partnership with local activists, we advocate for key human rights issues—championing change makers and pursuing strategic litigation at home and around the world. And to ensure change that lasts, we foster a social-good approach to business and investment and educate millions of students about human rights and social justice.

National Immigration Project

The National Immigration Project is a national, nonprofit membership organization that engages in advocacy, litigation, public education, and community support to defend and protect the rights of immigrants in the United States.  Members of the National Immigration Project include attorneys, legal workers,  advocates, legal and grassroots organizations, and others seeking to uphold  the rights of immigrants in the United States. National Immigration Project litigates, advocates, educates, and builds bridges across movements to ensure that those who are most impacted by the immigration and criminal legal systems are uplifted and supported.

The National Police Accountability Project 

The National Police Accountability Project was founded in 1999 by members of the National Lawyers Guild to address misconduct by police officers and their employers. NPAP has more than 550 attorney members throughout the United States. These attorneys represent plaintiffs in civil actions alleging misconduct by law enforcement officers, including federal law enforcement officers. NPAP represents victims of police abuse, offers training and support to its attorney and legal worker members, and educates the public about police misconduct and accountability. NPAP also supports legislative efforts aimed at increasing accountability. Transparency is an essential prerequisite to accountability and reform. 

The Human Rights Data Analysis Group

The Human Rights Data Analysis Group is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working at the intersection of technology, data, and human rights for nearly 35 years. We are scientists supporting the advocacy community: a team of experts in applied and mathematical statistics, machine learning, computer science, demography, and social science. Our assistance in the collection, processing, organization, review, and dissemination of quantitative evidence has supported civil society organizations throughout the US as well as truth commissions, UN missions, human rights NGOs, and war crimes prosecutors around the world.

Black Lives Matter D.C.

Black Lives Matter DC is a grassroots, not-for-profit organization working to end state violence and systemic racism in Washington, D.C. and beyond. BLM DC is primarily engaged in the dissemination of information to the public in a multitude of ways. The organization conducts political education workshops (Street Law 101, Know Your Rights), hosts large-scale community events, and develops toolkits, reports, and statements that analyze local legislation, policing practices, and community safety strategies.

Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to mobilize the nation’s leading lawyers as agents for change in the Civil Rights Movement. The Lawyers’ Committee established the Criminal Justice Project (CJP) to challenge the racial disparities that persist across the American criminal legal system—disparities that erode due process, entrench systemic inequality, and fuel mass incarceration. CJP aims to enhance transparency and accountability within law enforcement, especially for Black and Brown communities that are disproportionately affected by misconduct. It challenges unconstitutional practices like excessive force, unlawful arrests, and racial profiling, while also addressing structural issues such as abusive warrant systems and the misuse of surveillance technologies. By holding police departments accountable in court and in the public square, CJP helps communities demand the safe, fair, and constitutional policing they deserve.