California law enforcement agencies are now required to report detailed information on all use of force incidents.
The state Department of Justice has launched a new online tool for police departments to electronically report the race of civilians, type of force used and the location of the injury.
Peter Bibring, director of police practices with ACLU of California, says the new database is a step toward expanding publicly available information on the use of force.
"By collecting information about every serious use of force, California is really taking a national lead in terms of tracking this information that's crucial to identifying potential problems that lead to use of force, racial disparities in use of force, problematic departments and also identifying solutions," he says.
Previously, departments only reported in custody deaths, and did so using paper forms.
State law agencies have until Jan. 1 to report data for 2016.
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.