In the midst of the national outcry over recent police shootings of unarmed black and Latino men, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that it will begin collecting more data about police shootings of civilians and providing it to the American public.

On Monday, FBI Director James Comey said that every police department in the country will now be required to submit information on officer-involved shootings. The collected data will then be made public.

"Once we receive this data, we will add a special publication that focuses on law enforcement's use of force in shooting incidents," Comey wrote in the FBI's annual report, titled "Crime in the United States."

"We hope this information ... will help to dispel misperceptions, foster accountability and promote transparency in how law enforcement personnel relate to the communities they serve," he added.

Comey also described this information as necessary, in light of the ongoing national debate and protests calling for more police accountability.

"[Continuing] without comprehensive data only stalls meaningful conversation and fuels empty debates, both within law enforcement and in the communities we serve," he wrote.

As of now, federal authorities only keep track of some fatal police shootings, since not all agencies in the U.S. participate in the voluntary reporting system. According to Comey, only a little more than one-third of local law enforcement agencies feed report info about police shootings to the FBI's data system. Comey also voiced concern earlier this year over the incomplete data available regarding how often police officers use deadly force.

"It's ridiculous that I can't tell you how many people were shot by the police in this country," Comey said in February during an appearance at Georgetown University, reports The Washington Post.

He added that the heated protests over the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson prompted him to ask his staff for statistics citing how many black people are shot by police. However, they couldn't provide a number.

The Washington Post has been keeping a record of every fatal shooting by police in 2015, as well as the number of law enforcement officers shot and killed by suspects. As of Sept. 28, The Post had found that 729 civilians have been fatally shot by police, while 27 officers were shot by suspects.