For decades, law enforcement misconduct has been shrouded in secrecy, hidden behind a “blue wall of silence.” Until independent projects cropped up in 2012, even simple statistics were unknown. From 2020-2023, NACDL’s Full Disclosure Project helped defenders build databases tracking misconduct on over 150,000 law enforcement officers. This report examines how defense lawyers have pioneered the movement to track police misconduct, the impact of their work, and recommendations for other defenders looking to join the movement. [Released September 2023]

From 2020-2023, NACDL’s Full Disclosure Project disrupted the culture of secrecy that shields law enforcement misconduct by building technology to track law enforcement misconduct, empowering defenders with tools and training, and advocating for greater police transparency and accountability.

NACDL’s Full Disclosure Project co-hosted a 4-day online convening in collaboration with the Invisible Institute and WITNESS in November 2021 to bring together practitioners to discuss the potential benefits and harms of collecting and disseminating policing data and connect data collections efforts with organizing aimed at effecting change. The report aims to share the key principles, tensions and practices that we discussed; help guide ongoing conversations and development of best practices; and inform future project planning and funding decisions. [Released March 2023]

Before choosing a tool for organizing misconduct data, establish your project scope with a data collection plan. This will identify your priority agencies, data sources, and collaborators. Once you have a data collection plan, consider how you want to store that data.

As a criminal defense organization, we do not profess to possess expertise in policing practices insofar as those practices do not directly intersect with the criminal justice system. But many police practices do have a direct impact on the treatment of accused persons, the degree to which their cases are litigated justly, and case outcomes. Accordingly, we offer a few key insights, which we hope will find their way into the Commission’s recommendations.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, a professional society, offers the following comments for the White House’s consideration. … NACDL has particular expertise in the collection of law enforcement data. Since 2020, NACDL’s Full Disclosure Project has managed an open-source web application to track, aggregate, and analyze law enforcement misconduct data. NACDL also collaborates with advanced computing and data science partners to develop tools and processes that automate collecting and digesting police data.

20^th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference
August 18-20, 2021 | Held Virtually

This panel highlights policing reforms adopted over the last year and what still needs to be done.

NACDL's 19th Annual State Criminal Justice Network Conference
August 17-19, 2020 | Held Virtually
Policing in America: Policing the Police

Defenders start from the proposition that something went wrong with the police case.

But how do things go wrong?

Defense attorneys often point to “one big screw-up” or “one twisted cop” in telling the story of a client’s innocence to a jury. In reality, the best explanation of how things go wrong is usually an “organizational accident” – a lot of small errors that alone would not be enough to cause something to go wrong, but when put together can cause catastrophe.

Known data projects by government, non-profit, and community organizations that publicly post data, preferably with making individual data points available. 

NACDL supports improved transparency around police disciplinary records in New Jersey.

NACDL worked with state partners to successfully advocate for public access to law enforcement disciplinary records.

Express your interest in the Full Disclosure Project. There’s no commitment and there are no right or wrong answers. As capacity allows we will follow up to schedule a demo, assess the suitability of your organization, and invite you to apply to participate in our Full Disclosure Project. Decisions will be made based upon the information you provide.

On the Second Anniversary of George Floyd’s Murder, Nation’s Criminal Defense Bar Calls for Renewed Focus on Reform – Washington, DC (May 25, 2022) – Two years ago, Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, shocking the nation and setting off a renewed wave of calls for reform of police use of force against people of color.

The Long Shadow of the Trial Penalty

Thanks to the trial penalty, criminal trials no longer offer sufficient opportunities for the community to evaluate the conduct of the police during citizen-officer encounters. Police and prosecutors can effectively coerce guilty pleas thereby obscuring, even deliberately shielding, unlawful police conduct from public exposure and review by the courts.