I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4189 
To direct the Attorney General to convene a national working group to 
study proactive strategies and best practices to ensure the inclusion 
of community satisfaction and trust in policing performance measure-
ment, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 25, 2021 
Ms. SPANBERGER (for herself and Mr. TAYLOR) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To direct the Attorney General to convene a national working 
group to study proactive strategies and best practices 
to ensure the inclusion of community satisfaction and 
trust in policing performance measurement, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Measuring What Matters Act’’. 
(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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(1) On December 18, 2014, President Barack 
Obama signed an Executive order establishing the 
Task Force on 21st Century Policing. The President 
charged the task force with identifying best practices 
and offering recommendations on how policing prac-
tices can promote effective crime reduction while 
building public trust. 
(2) The task force, which met 7 times in Janu-
ary and February of 2015, brought the 11 members 
of the task force together with more than 100 indi-
viduals from diverse stakeholder groups—police offi-
cers and executives, community members, civic lead-
ers, advocates, researchers, academics, and others— 
in addition to many others who submitted written 
testimony to study the problems from all perspec-
tives. 
(3) The task force recommendations, each with 
action items, were organized around six main topic 
areas or ‘‘pillars’’, with the first being the Building 
Trust and Legitimacy Pillar. 
(4) Recommendation 1.7 under the Building 
Trust and Legitimacy Pillar found that police de-
partments should track the level of trust in police by 
their communities just as they measure changes in 
crime. 
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(5) The 1.7.1 action item of recommendation 
1.7 was that the Federal Government should develop 
survey tools and instructions for use of such a model 
to prevent local departments from incurring the ex-
pense and to allow for consistency across jurisdic-
tions. 
SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF WORKING GROUP. 
Not later than 90 after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Attorney General shall establish a national work-
ing group, to be known as the U.S. Commission on Re-
forming Police Metrics, to study best practices and re-
sources needed to— 
(1) measure public trust in police institutions 
through the inclusion of community input; and 
(2) properly integrate the findings of the com-
munity input in police performance measurement. 
SEC. 3. DUTIES OF THE WORKING GROUP. 
In carrying out the study described in section 2, the 
working group shall— 
(1) develop findings on the best means of facili-
tating community input on— 
(A) community trust in the procedural jus-
tice of policing institutions; and 
(B) information on what the community 
believes about local crime, how to fight it, and 
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how its relationship with police serves or im-
pedes progress; 
(2) develop the means of inclusion and proper 
weighing of community input into police perform-
ance measurement; 
(3) develop best practices to increase commu-
nity trust and satisfaction with police performance; 
(4) develop estimates and descriptions of the 
funding, resources, and proactive strategies nec-
essary for Federal, State, and local police to success-
fully implement a system that includes community 
input in police performance measurement; and 
(5) develop findings and best practices for in-
stilling a sense of shared responsibility between com-
munities and the police for public safety through en-
gagement, and accurate metrics related to public 
safety measurement. 
SEC. 4. MEMBERS OF THE WORKING GROUP. 
(a) COMPOSITION.—The working group shall be com-
posed of such representatives of Federal departments and 
agencies, non-Federal policing institutions, nongovern-
mental organizations, community-based organizations, 
and academic institutions as the Attorney General deter-
mines appropriate. The Attorney General shall invite rep-
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resentatives from the following organizations to be mem-
bers of the working group: 
(1) The Director of the Office of Community 
Oriented Policing Services of the Department of 
Justice. 
(2) The Office of Justice Programs of the De-
partment of Justice. 
(3) Community-based organizations and Civil 
Rights groups, to include— 
(A) the National Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People; 
(B) UnidosUS; 
(C) the League of United Latin American 
Citizens; 
(D) 
the 
Japanese 
American 
Citizens 
League; 
(E) the Organization of Chinese Ameri-
cans; 
(F) Muslim Advocates; 
(G) the Council on American-Islamic Rela-
tions; 
(H) the National Congress of American In-
dians; 
(I) the National Organization for Women; 
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(J) the American Association of University 
Women; 
(K) the Leadership Conference on Civil 
and Legal Rights; 
(L) the Religious Action Center of Reform 
Judaism; 
(M) the National Collection of Churches; 
(N) the United States Conference of 
Catholic Bishops; 
(O) the American Civil Liberties Union; 
(P) the National Association for Civilian 
Oversight of Law Enforcement; 
(Q) the Mexican American Legal Defense 
and Educational Fund; and 
(R) the American Law Institute. 
(4) Policing Institutions and Local Government 
Organizations, to include— 
(A) Major Cities Chiefs Association; 
(B) the Fraternal Order of Police; 
(C) the National Sheriffs Association; 
(D) the National Police Foundation; 
(E) the Police Executive Research Forum; 
(F) the National Association of Police Or-
ganizations; 
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(G) the National District Attorneys Asso-
ciation; 
(H) the Conference of Mayors; 
(I) the International Association of Chiefs 
of Police; 
(J) the National Association of Counties; 
and 
(K) the Law Enforcement Action Partner-
ship. 
(b) CONTINUATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—If a member 
of a working group was appointed based on membership 
in an agency or organization and the member ceases to 
be a member of such agency or organization, such member 
shall cease to be a member of the working group on the 
date on which the member ceases to be a member of such 
agency or organization. 
(c) TERMS.—Each member should be appointed for 
the life of the working group. 
(d) VACANCY.—Any member appointed to fill a va-
cancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which 
the member’s predecessor was appointed shall be ap-
pointed only for the remainder of that term. A member 
may serve after the expiration of that member’s term until 
a successor has taken office. A vacancy in the working 
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group shall be filled in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made. 
(e) COMPENSATION.—Members of the working group 
shall serve without pay. 
(f) QUORUM.—A simple majority of the members 
constitutes a quorum, but a lesser number may hold hear-
ings. 
(g) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the working 
group shall be the Director of the Office of Community 
Oriented Policing Services of the Department of Justice. 
(h) MEETINGS.—The working group shall hold vir-
tual meetings monthly, and any subgroup of the working 
group shall hold additional meetings as necessary. 
SEC. 5. STAFF OF WORKING GROUP; EXPERTS AND CON-
SULTANTS. 
(a) STAFF.—The Chairperson of the working group 
may appoint and fix the pay of additional personnel as 
the Chairperson considers appropriate. 
(b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—The Chairperson 
may procure temporary and intermittent services under 
section 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 
(c) DETAILEES.—Upon request of the Chairperson, 
the head of any Federal department or agency may detail, 
on a reimbursable basis, any of the personnel of that de-
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SEC. 9. PILOT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 
working group submits its report to Congress, the Attor-
ney General shall establish a competitive pilot program 
which shall award grants to police departments and sher-
iffs departments that carry out the recommendations of 
the working group’s report. The purpose of the pilot pro-
gram shall be to provide technical assistance and financial 
support to local police departments and sheriffs depart-
ments in carrying out the recommendations of the working 
group. 
(b) APPLICATIONS.—To receive a grant under this 
section, a police department or sheriffs department shall 
submit to the Attorney General an application at such 
time, in such manner, and containing such information as 
the Attorney General may require. 
(c) LIMITED MEMBERSHIP IN PILOT PROGRAM.—To 
ensure a group of participating agencies representative of 
the United States, the Attorney General shall limit partici-
pation in the pilot program to not more than 15 agencies 
nationwide. When selecting these agencies, the Attorney 
General shall ensure the inclusion of— 
(1) at least three police departments from 
major United States cities; 
(2) at least two police departments from mid- 
sized United States cities; 
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(3) at least one police department serving a 
suburban county; 
(4) at least one Tribal police department; 
(5) at least two police departments serving 
rural counties; and 
(6) at least two sheriffs departments. 
(d) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—In selecting partici-
pants for the pilot program, the Attorney General shall 
consider— 
(1) whether the agency is, as of the date of sub-
mission of the application, or has been, during the 
5-year period before such submission, subject to a 
consent decree or a pattern or practice investigation 
by the Department of Justice under section 210401 
of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 
Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601); and 
(2) whether the agencies participating are rep-
resentative when considering— 
(A) geography; 
(B) race; and 
(C) socioeconomic makeup. 
(e) REPORT.—The Attorney General shall submit to 
Congress on an annual basis a report, which shall in-
clude— 
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(1) information related to the operation of the 
pilot program under this section, including police 
performance measurements used by participating po-
lice departments and any changes in department 
practices implemented by agencies in response to the 
new performance measures; and 
(2) the recommendations of the advisory group 
described in subsection (f). 
(f) ADVISORY GROUP.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 
form an advisory group, including members of the 
working group and such other members as the At-
torney General may designate, to oversee the pilot 
program established under this section and make 
recommendations for the improvement of such pro-
gram. 
(2) 
FINAL
REPORT.—The 
advisory 
group 
formed under paragraph (1) shall submit to the At-
torney General and Congress a report on— 
(A) any findings with respect to the pilot 
program; 
(B) recommendations with respect to how 
best practices of the pilot program may be in-
corporated in programs and practices of the 
Department of Justice; and 
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(C) a recommendation with respect to 
whether the pilot program should be reauthor-
ized permanently. 
SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated from the gen-
eral fund of the Treasury such sums as may be necessary 
to carry out this Act. 
Æ 
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