DOJ removes police fraud database

The federal government, which operates a law enforcement system that is never intended by the constitution, is now making it even less transparent. The already vague monitoring process is still dark.

According to a report by the Washington Post, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has officially closed its National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD). This is a central repository of federal police misconduct records and a resource intended to prevent bad officers from moving between agencies undetected.

Reason for deletion

WAPO reports that President Donald Trump's decision to shut down the database was part of a broader effort to reduce federal spending and reduce government oversight on law enforcement.

In a statement to the outlet, the White House dismissed the database as part of President Joe Biden's “awake, anti-politics” executive order.

“I believe President Trump is struggling with the right balance of accountability without compromising the ability of law enforcement to do the job of fighting crime and keeping communities safe. …But this database is Biden's executive order, which we create, is awakened anti-political concept to reduce community safety, like addressing “fair” policing and “systemic racism” in our criminal justice system. It was full of them. ”

The White House added that President Trump revoked an order to establish a database on his first day in office, highlighting his commitment to equipping law enforcement with the tools he needs to fight crime.

Trump's executive order has revoked multiple police “reforms” launched under Biden.

Database

NLEAD was designed as a centralized tracking system to document both disciplinary action and praise of more than 148,000 federal law enforcement officials.

It was launched on December 18, 2023 and has become an important tool for employment, challenges and promotions across 90 federal law enforcement agencies.

According to the latest update as of September 2024, NLEAD maintains 4,790 fraud records for 4,011 officers dating back to 2018, with 63% involved in serious disciplinary action. They included criminal convictions under investigation, suspension, termination, civil judgment and resignation. The largest DOJ from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and personnel perspective accounted for 88% (4,206 cases) of reported fraud. Meanwhile, 69% of the 13 divisions with multiple agencies had fewer than 100 recorded cases.

The federal agency has used it aggressively to flag potential recruitment and prevent “wandering officers” from playing games on the system. In the first eight months of 2024, almost 10,000 searches were conducted.

The database wasn't just fraudulent. They also tracked praise and awards, giving them a more complete grasp of the executive history.

Two orders

In June 2020, amid a national protest over the death of George Floyd in police custody, President Trump signed an executive order focusing on police reform. A national database was sought to improve police certification, crisis training, and track overuse accidents.

The order strengthened the enhanced policy and banned chokeholds. It also linked federal funds to state and local departments that meet certain policing standards. Additionally, it has promoted initiatives that promote Americans to “better service” with a special focus on the African American community.

However, this proposal did not come true, perhaps due to the lack of enforcement mechanisms and the support of Congress.

When Biden took office, he tried to pass the police law by George Floyd Justice, who would have codified the fraud database into law. However, when Congress did not pass the bill in 2021, Biden took enforcement action instead. On May 25, 2022, he signed Executive Order 14074.

The order not only created Nlead, but also banned chokeholds and introduced limited knock entries, except for stricter use policies, required body use and life-threatening circumstances. However, it also includes diversity adoption obligations and “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)”-based training. Clearly, this measure was more ideological than practical in terms of crime prevention and improving public safety.

Police organization and nlead

The WAPO report cites concerns about NLEAD raised by the National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO). This is a large coalition of police unions and associations representing more than 241,000 law enforcement officials across the United States.

In particular, NAPO did not oppose pursuing police misconduct. I opposed a certain flaw in the system.

In a January 2025 letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Napo criticized NLEAD for far beyond serious misconduct. The database included low-level management violations, such as missing training sessions, along with records of criminal convictions and termination. The group warned that this overreach could unfairly damage the reputation of its executives.

Another major concern was the due process, or the lack of it. Officers had no clear way to challenge or modify records before entering the system, the group argued.

They argued that the DOJ routinely ignored these pressing concerns.

Police state?

The demolition of Nlead is more than just taking on transparency and DEI initiatives. It exposes deeper contradictions in federal law enforcement. The constitution never intended Washington to have its own police. But for decades, federal agencies have expanded reach and cover everything from tax enforcement to rail fraud. Now these same agencies continue to operate with even less surveillance.

The 10th amendment is clear. Law enforcement is the responsibility of the state and local. But instead of asking if federal police states should exist at all, the debate locks itself into whether Washington should police.

Former Texas Sen. Ron Paul warned me a long time ago. He highlighted the massive, inexplainable power of federal enforcers operating under the guise of “security.” Paul noted that hundreds of thousands of armed federal agents across agencies such as the FBI, IRS, the Department of Road Security and Homeland Security have not answered the community. He argued that these bureaucrats exist to control Americans rather than to protect them.

This rapidly expanding police state never existed. And now it works with even less accountability measurement.

As Ron Paul also said, “If you go to bed with the government, you have to expect a disease that spreads.” That's the real irony here. In the name of government reduction, Trump wiped out surveillance tools, but not the federal law enforcement machine itself.

For men who built their brands based on “law and order,” Trump's decisions here are oddly out of sync. Laws that are not accountable are not order – it is simply an unconfirmed force. The government, which was not intended to police the nation, has once again chosen a secret to accountability.