The author advises that the United States fails in this responsibility, since there are no systematic or useful national data available to citizens that describe the frequency and consequences of police use of force in the United States. Currently there are only some local data that are provided by unrepresentative police agencies or obtained by the media under court order. There are also some aggregate data and estimates that cannot be linked to specific agencies. This article reviews existing data and offers recommendations that could provide both citizens and public officials with a clearer picture of police efforts to minimize their use of force. This analysis of the scope and methodology of current means of collecting information on police use of force and its consequences makes clear that police will not voluntarily submit or disseminate data on their use of force. The only way that comprehensive data on the police use of force can be collected with a reasonable assurance of accuracy is to establish a central authority that will collect and summarize data on force-related issues, identifying the agencies involved in the same way that the Uniform Crime Reports currently reports on crime across American jurisdictions. Until such reporting is mandated, perhaps by linking the receipt of Federal funds to such reporting, U.S. police agencies will fail to their responsibility to inform citizens about how police have used force, along with its effects. 5 figures and 27 references