Racial Profiling

In an historic collaboration between the civil rights community and local police chiefs, the General Assembly enacted a comprehensive bill designed to tackle the problem of racial profiling in the state, a problem that was overwhelmingly documented last year with the release of a two-year study of traffic stops data. Drafted by the ACLU, the legislation was sponsored by Senator Rhoda Perry and Representative Joseph Almeida. Representative Edith Ajello was also instrumental in smoothing the way for the bill’s passage in the House. The final product was the result of hours of negotiations between civil rights groups and various law enforcement representatives. As enacted, the legislation explicitly bans racial profiling and provides legal remedies for its victims; requires the continued collection of traffic stops data by police departments for another year as well as on-going review of the data; bars the use of so-called consent searches (police “asking” drivers for permission to engage in suspicionless searches); prohibits the extended detention of cars without cause; and establishes uniform procedures for the filing of complaints of police misconduct. Although the legislation will certainly not eliminate racial profiling, it marks an important first step in addressing this serious issue.