Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order today that would set up a database for tracking police officers who have complaints about excessive use of force in their records.
The order is aimed at improving how officers treat black people and will also encourage police departments to employ the latest standards for use of force and assign social workers to law enforcement responses to non-violent cases.
Mr Trump told reporters on Monday: “We’re going to be talking about things that we’ve been watching and seeing for the last month and we’re going to have some solutions.”
The US president has previously faced criticism for his response to protests around the country sparked by the death of unarmed black man George Floyd while in police custody.
Senior administration officials say the order will incentivise police departments by allowing discretionary grants to be approved for forces which show good policing practices.
Some activists have called for funding to be taken from police departments, but an administration official said: “We are not looking to defund the police.
“We’re looking to invest more and incentivise best practices.”
The families of people who have been killed by police, as well as law enforcement officials, are expected to be part of the event where Mr Trump will sign the order.
Senate Republicans are also proposing a package of policing changes, which includes new restrictions on police chokeholds.
An anonymous Senate Republican said the package would restrict the use of chokeholds by withholding certain federal funds to jurisdictions that continue to allow the practice.
Senator Tim Scott, the only black Republican in the Senate, said the chokehold is a “policy whose time has come and gone”.
The manoeuvre is already banned in many departments, and police are more likely to kill someone by shooting.
The bill would also encourage police body cameras and include an effort to make lynching a federal hate crime.
Democrats have a similar proposal, but theirs goes further by banning chokeholds and allowing those injured by law enforcement to sue for damages.
Leading civil rights groups have backed the Democratic bill but it is not yet clear whether the Republican bill is extensive enough to gain broad support.
Meanwhile, New York City is disbanding its anti-crime units, which have been responsible for a disproportionate number of shootings and complaints.
One such unit was involved in the 2014 death of Eric Garner, who died when an officer used a chokehold to wrestle him to the ground.
Around 600 officers working in the unit will be given new assignments.
Race and Revolution: Is Change Going to Come?
On Tuesday night at 8pm, Sky News will broadcast global debate show Race and Revolution: Is Change Going to Come?
It will look at the issues raised by the Black Lives Matter protests, and examine institutional racism and how we fix it.
*story by Sky News