ACLU urges traffic-stop reform

[one...two...tree 2,762]

by Lindsey Collom, The Arizona Republic

The American Civil Liberties Union in Arizona is using a years-old racial-profiling lawsuit to push sweeping changes on how police conduct traffic stops.

Major reforms would include legislation to have all law-enforcement agencies keep detailed records on whom they stop and for how long, as well as a ban of consent searches.

The recommendations came as part of a study released Monday that looked at the same Arizona Department of Public Safety traffic-stop data examined by the University of Cincinnati five months earlier.

The Cincinnati report found that DPS officers were more likely to search minority motorists than their White counterparts during traffic stops. In the latest report, Driving While Black or Brown, the ACLU came to the same conclusion.

"It is easy to be nice to people we like, people like us," said Dan Pochoda, legal director for ACLU in Arizona. "The true test of democracy is how we treat people who are outsiders, who are considered different with less political power, and we have seen a trampling of rights of those persons."

In addition to mandatory data collection, the ACLU report called for greater internal and external accountability of law-enforcement agencies, and the securing of additional funding for audio-visual equipment for all DPS vehicles.

Lt. James Warner, DPS spokesman, called the ACLU report "old news." He said the department has made strides in improving data collection per the Cincinnati report's recommendations, and video cameras are being installed in all patrol vehicles. About 300 of the department's 1,200 patrol cars have been outfitted so far, but budget issues have slowed the process.

Warner said DPS has a zero-tolerance policy on racial profiling, and officers participate in annual diversity training.

"If we're honest with ourselves, we all have biases, and we have to try and ensure those don't come out," Warner said. "I'm not going to sit here and tell you some of our officers' biases won't come out. We are human beings. We teach that they can't let that influence what they do on the streets."

The ACLU report called on legislators to pass a racial-profiling bill requiring local, county and state police to keep detailed information on all traffic stops. Proponents say it would bolster arguments that Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies are targeting people based on race when conducting immigration sweeps across the Valley.

Rep. Jerry Weiers, R-Glendale, said it's "too late in the game" to introduce a bill this legislative session. Weiers, chairman of the House Natural Resources and Public Safety Committee, said he hadn't witnessed racial profiling when riding with DPS and Phoenix police officers, nor had he heard complaints from constituents.

"Everybody needs to be aware of (racial profiling), and I personally believe they're all aware of it right now," Weiers said. "We just have to see whether the report they have holds true."

Analysts for both reports used the same data logged by DPS between June 2006 and July 2007. The data collection was a condition in the settlement of a 2001 lawsuit pursued by the ACLU and criminal defendants who accused state police of targeting minority motorists on interstates near Flagstaff. DPS settled the case in 2006 after it told the court it had lost or destroyed two years' worth of traffic-stop data.

Fred Solop, director of the Social Research Laboratory at Northern Arizona University, analyzed the data for ACLU. He was a consultant for the prosecution in the 2001 lawsuit.

Solop said data from 200,000 traffic stops on Arizona highways showed that African-Americans and Hispanics were 2½ times more likely than Whites to be searched, even though Whites were more likely to have contraband.

"Based on this disparity in the post-stop outcome, we have to conclude that Hispanics and African-Americans, people of color generally, are being treated differently on Arizona interstates than Whites," Solop said.

Led by defense consultant Robin Engel, University of Cincinnati analysts drew a similar conclusion but cautioned that other factors may also explain the high rate of arrests and vehicle searches of minorities. Engel's team made recommendations calling for better data collection and further analysis of post-stop outcomes.

Some civil-rights experts thought the recommendations didn't go far enough.

"It's not enough for an analyst to say you can't get into the minds of officers," said King Downing, national coordinator of the ACLU's Campaign Against Racial Profiling. "I'm confident that police departments, whether individually bad apples or systemically, are racially profiling wherever we go. And a department has to make a commitment to root that out."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/200...22aclu0422.html

[mawilson 2,133]

What about black or brown police officers? Do they mostly stop white people?

[almaty 19]

no.//they are haters..that is why they are cops./....

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Major reforms would include legislation to have all law-enforcement agencies keep detailed records on whom they stop and for how long, as well as a ban of consent searches.

I think mandating that they keep records of who was stopped, why and for how long is a great idea. I just wouldn't want the records to have to be overly extensive, that could be onerous.

But banning consent searches? That's silly.

[Peikko 1,575]

Seems an ####### about face way of doing things - implementing more paperwork. I would have thought it would be more useful to work to eliminate racial influence within the police force as a whole. A good strategy is to employ a mixed work force and ensure that equal merit is given for everyone doing their jobs well so that everyone with the requisite skills has a chance for promotion, regardless of race.

[Ban Hammer 12,999]

What about black or brown police officers? Do they mostly stop white people?

we can then scream racism, right?

[mawilson 2,133]

What about black or brown police officers? Do they mostly stop white people?

we can then scream racism, right?

Soon, brother -- when Non-Hispanic Caucasian Americans become a minority.

Yay, affirmative action! We're going to need it.

[peejay 327]

I think a lot of conclusions have been jumped.

Proponents say it would bolster arguments that Maricopa County Sheriff's deputies are targeting people based on race when conducting immigration sweeps across the Valley.

Considering that 80% of the illegal aliens in the USA are Hispanic (probably 99% in a border state like AZ)...is it any wonder that almost all of the illegal aliens aprehended are Hispanic? Why even bother to go after White guys named Bob Smith. Ditto for Black guys named Jamal Washington. Gimme a break! Statistically that is a no brainer.

Solop said data from 200,000 traffic stops on Arizona highways showed that African-Americans and Hispanics were 2½ times more likely than Whites to be searched, even though Whites were more likely to have contraband.

Where is the proof that Whites are bigger dopers than Blacks or Hispanics? Cops have to have probable cause to light someone up. Just because more Blacks and Hispanics are searched than Whites is meaningless. How about the ratio of searches to arrests? The notion that cops let White criminals skate is absurd. White people don't like White criminals either.

This article is full of innuendo without any proof. The ACLU is always looking for more fodder to justify its own importance and existence.

[Peikko 1,575]

Solop said data from 200,000 traffic stops on Arizona highways showed that African-Americans and Hispanics were 2½ times more likely than Whites to be searched, even though Whites were more likely to have contraband.

The statistics prove that despite the fact that more than twice as many Blacks/Hispanics are searched than Whites, Whites are actually found to have contraband more often than Blacks/Hispanics otherwise why would they say Whites are 'more likely to have contraband?"