Title: Demanding Oversight from Justice Act of 2017
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Demanding Oversight from Justice Act of 2017
This bill amends the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 to require the Department of Justice (DOJ) to seek a civil action to stop law enforcement officials responsible for the administration of juvenile justice from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives persons of their statutory or constitutional rights when DOJ has reasonable cause to believe such conduct has occurred.
The bill requires DOJ to publish an annual report describing complaints received about unlawful law enforcement conduct and specified information, including an explanation of why DOJ did not initiate an investigation or civil action.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3799 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3799

 To direct the Justice Department to pursue civil actions to eliminate 
  patterns or practices of civil rights violations by police, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 14, 2017

 Ms. Maxine Waters of California (for herself, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Rush, 
 Mr. Cohen, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Payne, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Scott of 
    Virginia, Ms. Norton, Mr. Cummings, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. 
 Gutierrez, and Mr. Carson of Indiana) introduced the following bill; 
          which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Justice Department to pursue civil actions to eliminate 
  patterns or practices of civil rights violations by police, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Demanding Oversight from Justice Act 
of 2017''.

SEC. 2. CIVIL ACTION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.

    Section 210401(b) of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 
Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12601(b)) is amended by striking ``may in a 
civil action'' and inserting ``shall in a civil action''.

SEC. 3. ANNUAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, 
and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall publish a report 
describing the complaints received by the Department of Justice 
alleging violations of section 210401 of the Violent Crime Control and 
Law Enforcement Act of 1994, including--
            (1) information on each investigation conducted and each 
        civil action initiated--
                    (A) pursuant to all such complaints; or
                    (B) without such a complaint having been filed; and
            (2) for each complaint received for which the Attorney 
        General does not initiate an investigation or a civil action, 
        an explanation as to why no investigation or civil action was 
        initiated.
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