In one of his last moves as attorney general, Jeff Sessions signed a memorandum restricting the use of so-called consent decrees.
The memorandum limits the use of court-approved agreements to make changes in local police departments accused of civil rights violations.
Sessions signed the memorandum Wednesday, the same day he was forced to resign.
He called for a review on consent decrees in April after Baltimore, Chicago, and Ferguson, Missouri, police departments enacted them.
Under the new guidelines, the deputy attorney general or associate attorney general will have to approve consent decrees; defendants must show evidence of additional violations by the law enforcement department; and the decrees must have a set end date.
