Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-504 — NE Code / Chapter 20 / Section 20-504
View Statute 20-504
Status: in_force

(1) The Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city and village police departments, and any other law enforcement agency in this state shall adopt and provide a copy to the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice of a written policy that prohibits the detention of any person or a motor vehicle stop when such action is motivated by racial profiling. Such racial profiling prevention policy shall include definitions consistent with section 20-503 and one or more internal methods of prevention and enforcement, including, but not limited to:

(a) Internal affairs investigation;

(b) Preventative measures including extra training at the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center focused on avoidance of apparent or actual racial profiling;

(c) Anti-bias and implicit bias training and testing designed to minimize apparent or actual racial profiling;

(d) Early intervention with any particular personnel determined by the administration of the agency to have committed, participated in, condoned, or attempted to cover up any instance of racial profiling; and

(e) Disciplinary measures or other formal or informal methods of prevention and enforcement.

None of the preventative or enforcement measures shall be implemented contrary to the collective-bargaining agreement provisions or personnel rules under which the member or officer in question is employed.

(2) The Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice may develop and distribute a suggested model written racial profiling prevention policy for use by law enforcement agencies, but the commission shall not mandate the adoption of the model policy except for any particular law enforcement agency which fails to timely create and provide to the commission a policy for the agency in conformance with the minimum standards set forth in this section.

(3) With respect to a motor vehicle stop, on and after January 1, 2002, the Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city and village police departments, and any other law enforcement agency in this state shall record and retain the following information using the form developed and promulgated pursuant to section 20-505 :

(a) The number of motor vehicle stops;

(b) The characteristics of race or ethnicity of the person stopped. The identification of such characteristics shall be based on the observation and perception of the law enforcement officer responsible for reporting the motor vehicle stop and the information shall not be required to be provided by the person stopped;

(c) If the stop is for a law violation, the nature of the alleged law violation that resulted in the motor vehicle stop;

(d) Whether a warning or citation was issued, an arrest made, or a search conducted as a result of the motor vehicle stop. Search does not include a search incident to arrest or an inventory search; and

(e) Any additional information that the Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city and village police departments, or any other law enforcement agency in this state, as the case may be, deems appropriate.

(4) The Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice may develop a uniform system for receiving allegations of racial profiling. The Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city and village police departments, and any other law enforcement agency in this state shall provide to the commission (a) a copy of each allegation of racial profiling received and (b) written notification of the review and disposition of such allegation. No information revealing the identity of the law enforcement officer involved in the stop shall be used, transmitted, or disclosed in violation of any collective-bargaining agreement provision or personnel rule under which such law enforcement officer is employed. No information revealing the identity of the complainant shall be used, transmitted, or disclosed in the form alleging racial profiling.

(5) Any law enforcement officer who in good faith records information on a motor vehicle stop pursuant to this section shall not be held civilly liable for the act of recording such information unless the law enforcement officer's conduct was unreasonable or reckless or in some way contrary to law.

(6) On or before October 1, 2002, and annually thereafter, the Nebraska State Patrol, the county sheriffs, all city and village police departments, and all other law enforcement agencies in this state shall provide to the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice, in such form as the commission prescribes, a summary report of the information recorded pursuant to subsection (3) of this section.

(7) The Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice shall, within the limits of its existing appropriations, including any grant funds which the commission is awarded for such purpose, provide for an annual review and analysis of the prevalence and disposition of motor vehicle stops based on racial profiling and allegations of racial profiling involved in other detentions reported pursuant to this section. After the review and analysis, the commission may, when it deems warranted, inquire into and study individual law enforcement agency circumstances in which the raw data collected and analyzed raises at least some issue or appearance of possible racial profiling. The commission may make recommendations to any such law enforcement agency for the purpose of improving measures to prevent racial profiling or the appearance of racial profiling. The results of such review, analysis, inquiry, and study and any recommendations by the commission to any law enforcement agency shall be reported annually to the Governor and the Legislature. The report submitted to the Legislature shall be submitted electronically.

(8) Any law enforcement officer, prosecutor, defense attorney, or probation officer, unless restricted by privilege, who becomes aware of incidents of racial profiling by a law enforcement agency, shall report such incidents to the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice within thirty days after becoming aware of such practice.

(9) If the Nebraska State Patrol, a county sheriff, a city and village police department, or any other law enforcement agency in this state fails, in a material manner, to record or retain information as required by subsection (3) of this section or to provide the information to the Nebraska Commission on Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice as required by subsection (6) of this section, such agency shall be ineligible to receive loans, grants, funds, or donations administered by the commission until the commission determines that such material failure has been corrected.

Laws 2001, LB 593, § 4;

Laws 2004, LB 1162, § 2;

Laws 2006, LB 1113, § 19;

Laws 2010, LB746, § 1;

Laws 2012, LB782, § 21;

Laws 2013, LB99, § 3;

Laws 2020, LB924, § 1.