Comprehensive Racial Profiling Prevention Act (H 7256, S 2252)

Despite the renewed dedication of the Affiliate and the more than three dozen organizations comprising the Coalition Against Racial Profiling, the bill failed to move out of committee this year.   Three years’ worth of traffic stop data in Rhode Island demonstrated consistently that black and Hispanic drivers are twice as likely as whites to be stopped and searched by police, yet whites are more likely to be found with contraband when searched.  This legislation would build upon existing anti-profiling legislation to, among other things, prohibit police from asking passengers or pedestrians from proof of identification or searching juveniles without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, and require police officers to document the reasons for a traffic stop.  Similar legislation passed out of committee for the first time last year, but was recommitted by the House on the last day of the session; this year, the Coalition and committee members were discouraged by a complete refusal by law enforcement to discuss any legislative options for alleviating racial profiling, despite all the evidence indicated its proliferation.