Government Accountability Office audit

(a) Definitions In this section: (1) Director The term Director means the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2) Zero-reporting agency The term zero-reporting agency means any State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency that reports zero hate crimes in a calendar year to the National Incident-Based Reporting System of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (b) Audit Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct an audit of the hate crime data collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (c) Contents of audit In conducting the audit under subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall— (1) assess the methodologies and procedures used by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to collect and verify hate crime data; and (2) evaluate the accuracy of the data described in paragraph (1) by conducting a comparative analysis with other relevant hate crime data sources, which may include— (A) data collected by civil rights organizations serving communities frequently targeted by hate crimes; and (B) data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics through the National Crime Victimization Survey. (d) Report Not later than 180 days after completing the audit under subsection (b), the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a report containing— (1) the findings of the audit, including recommendations to improve the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of hate crime data received through the National Incident Bias Reporting System, which may include the use of automated systems to identify anomalies in the collected hate crime data such as— (A) a State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency classifying as a zero-reporting agency for consecutive years; and (B) hate crime data reporting patterns from a law enforcement agency that are statistically inconsistent with hate crime data reporting patterns observed in other comparable reporting agencies; and (2) the response of the Federal Bureau of Investigation to the findings of the audit detailing any actions that the Bureau has taken or planned to take to improve the accuracy and oversight of hate crime data reporting.