Substitute House Bill No. 5055, titled "AN ACT STRENGTHENING POLICE DATA REPORTING REQUIREMENTS," aims to improve the integrity of law enforcement record-keeping by establishing the offense of making a false statement in a law enforcement record as a class D felony. This offense is defined as intentionally entering false information into a law enforcement record with the intent to mislead a public servant. The bill also amends existing statutes to allow for the revocation of a law enforcement officer's certification for various misconducts, including unjustifiable use of physical force, tampering with evidence, perjury, false statement, or making a false statement in a law enforcement record. Law enforcement units are required to report any such violations by certificate holders.

The bill specifies that a law enforcement record includes any information related to crime or motor vehicle violation detection or investigation, whether inscribed on a tangible medium or stored electronically. The Police Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) is granted authority to cancel or revoke a police officer's certification for making a false statement in a law enforcement record, among other serious offenses. The bill mandates that the chief law enforcement officer of each unit must report violations related to truthfulness to POST and notify the state's attorney of potential criminal conduct by a certificate holder. The bill notes potential minimal costs to the Department of Correction and the Judicial Department, as well as potential minimal revenue gains from fines, with no anticipated municipal impact.