Currently, a wide variety of crime statistics are gathered by law enforcement officials every year, and reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These statistics allow us to see patterns in various crimes and evaluate the effectiveness of our crime prevention measures.
Now, there is no requirement to report deaths of civilians at the hands of law enforcement officers. As a result, it is impossible to even know how many civilians have been killed each year by law enforcement officers, much less any further analysis by comparing different cities or states, or analyzing the racial or gender composition of the persons killed, or whether the killing was found to be justified.
One of the first steps in reform is being able to quantify a problem and track progress.