NCJ Number
184460
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 67 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2000 Pages: 24-29
Editor(s)
Charles E. Higginbotham
Date Published
July 2000
Length
5 pages
Annotation
The International Association of Chiefs of Police Highway Safety Committee believes that any policy on professional traffic stops should contain certain elements to ensure that police do not substitute racial and ethnic profiling for reasonable suspicion in traffic stops and other law enforcement activities.
Abstract
These elements include definitions of profiling and reasonable suspicion and a clear statement that race or ethnicity alone cannot constitute a reason for a traffic stop, unless it is related to a specific, detailed description pertaining to a specific crime. Additional elements should include a requirement that police treat all persons with the utmost courtesy in traffic stops, as well as provision for adequate training and supervisory oversight. The Highway Safety Committee and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration have recently completed a curriculum on Professional Traffic Stops that will soon be available. The text of a sample traffic stops policy and procedure starts with a statement that the policy’s purpose is to state that racial and ethnic profiling in law enforcement are totally unacceptable, to provide guidelines for officers to prevent such occurrences, and to protect officers from unjustified accusations when they act within the dictates of the law and policy. Other sections give background information and definitions and explain the procedures that agencies should use to prevent racial profiling and to address complaints of racial and ethnic profiling. Footnotes