I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2074

To prohibit racial profiling.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 6, 2001

Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. SCOTT, Ms. JACKSON-LEE of

Texas, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. WU, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. MENENDEZ, Mr.

HONDA, Mr. STARK, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. FERGUSON, and Mr. WALSH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the

Judiciary

A BILL

To prohibit racial profiling.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘End Racial Profiling Act of 2001’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes.

TITLE I—PROHIBITION OF RACIAL PROFILING

Sec. 101. Prohibition.
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Sec. 102. Enforcement.

TITLE II—PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING BY

FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Sec. 201. Policies to eliminate racial profiling.

TITLE III—PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING BY

STATE AND LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Sec. 301. Policies required for grants.

Sec. 302. Best practices development grants.

TITLE IV—DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REPORT ON RACIAL

PROFILING IN THE UNITED STATES

Sec. 401. Attorney General to issue report on racial profiling in the United

States.

Sec. 402. Limitation on use of data.

TITLE V—DEFINITIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Definitions.

Sec. 502. Severability.

Sec. 503. Savings clause.

Sec. 504. Effective dates.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find3 ings:

4 (1) The vast majority of law enforcement

5 agents nationwide discharge their duties profes6 sionally, without bias, and protect the safety of their

7 communities.

8 (2) The use by police officers of race, ethnicity,

9 or national origin in deciding which persons should

10 be subject to traffic stops, stops and frisks, ques11 tioning, searches, and seizures is a problematic law

12 enforcement tactic. Statistical evidence from across

13 the country demonstrates that such racial profiling

14 is a real and measurable phenomenon.
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1 (3) As of November 15, 2000, the Department

2 of Justice had 14 publicly noticed, ongoing, pattern

3 or practice investigations involving allegations of ra4 cial profiling and had filed five pattern and practice

5 lawsuits involving allegations of racial profiling, with

6 four of those cases resolved through consent decrees.

7 (4) A large majority of individuals subjected to

8 stops and other enforcement activities based on race,

9 ethnicity, or national origin are found to be law10 abiding and therefore racial profiling is not an effec11 tive means to uncover criminal activity.

12 (5) A 2001 Department of Justice report on

13 citizen-police contacts in 1999 found that, although

14 African-Americans and Hispanics were more likely

15 to be stopped and searched, they were less likely to

16 be in possession of contraband. On average, searches

17 and seizures of African-American drivers yielded evi18 dence only eight percent of the time, searches and

19 seizures of Hispanic drivers yielded evidence only 10

20 percent of the time, and searches and seizures of

21 white drivers yielded evidence 17 percent of the

22 time.

23 (6) A 2000 General Accounting Office report on

24 the activities of the United States Customs Service

25 during fiscal year 1998 found that black women who
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1 were United States citizens were 9 times more likely

2 than white women who were United States citizens

3 to be X-rayed after being frisked or patted down

4 and, on the basis of X-ray results, black women who

5 were United States citizens were less than half as

6 likely as white women who were United States citi7 zens to be found carrying contraband. In general,

8 the report found that the patterns used to select

9 passengers for more intrusive searches resulted in

10 women and minorities being selected at rates that

11 were not consistent with the rates of finding contra12 band.

13 (7) Current local law enforcement practices,

14 such as ticket and arrest quotas, and similar man15 agement practices, may have the unintended effect

16 of encouraging law enforcement agents to engage in

17 racial profiling.

18 (8) Racial profiling harms individuals subjected

19 to it because they experience fear, anxiety, humilia20 tion, anger, resentment, and cynicism when they are

21 unjustifiably treated as criminal suspects. By dis22 couraging individuals from traveling freely, racial

23 profiling impairs both interstate and intrastate com24 merce.
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1 (9) Racial profiling damages law enforcement

2 and the criminal justice system as a whole by under3 mining public confidence and trust in the police, the

4 courts, and the criminal law.

5 (10) Racial profiling violates the Equal Protec6 tion Clause of the Constitution. Using race, eth7 nicity, or national origin as a proxy for criminal sus8 picion violates the constitutional requirement that

9 police and other government officials accord to all

10 citizens the equal protection of the law. Arlington

11 Heights v. Metropolitan Housing Development Cor12 poration, 429 U.S. 252 (1977).

13 (11) Racial profiling is not adequately ad14 dressed through suppression motions in criminal

15 cases for two reasons. First, the Supreme Court

16 held, in Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806

17 (1996), that the racially discriminatory motive of a

18 police officer in making an otherwise valid traffic

19 stop does not warrant the suppression of evidence.

20 Second, since most stops do not result in the dis21 covery of contraband, there is no criminal prosecu22 tion and no evidence to suppress.

23 (12) Current efforts by State and local govern24 ments to eradicate racial profiling and redress the

25 harms it causes, while laudable, have been limited in
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1 scope and insufficient to address this national prob2 lem.

3 (b) PURPOSES.—The independent purposes of this

4 Act are—

5 (1) to enforce the constitutional right to equal

6 protection of the laws, pursuant to the Fifth Amend7 ment and section 5 of the 14th Amendment to the

8 Constitution of the United States;

9 (2) to enforce the constitutional right to protec10 tion against unreasonable searches and seizures,

11 pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to the Constitu12 tion of the United States;

13 (3) to enforce the constitutional right to inter14 state travel, pursuant to section 2 of article IV of

15 the Constitution of the United States; and

16 (4) to regulate interstate commerce, pursuant

17 to clause 3 of section 8 of article I of the Constitu18 tion of the United States.

19 TITLE I—PROHIBITION OF

20 RACIAL PROFILING

21 SEC. 101. PROHIBITION.

22 No law enforcement agent or law enforcement agency

23 shall engage in racial profiling.
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1 SEC. 102. ENFORCEMENT.

2 (a) REMEDY.—The United States, or an individual

3 injured by racial profiling, may enforce this title in a civil

4 action for declaratory or injunctive relief, filed either in

5 a State court of general jurisdiction or in a District Court

6 of the United States.

7 (b) PARTIES.—In any action brought pursuant to

8 this title, relief may be obtained against: any governmental

9 unit that employed any law enforcement agent who en10 gaged in racial profiling; any agent of such unit who en11 gaged in racial profiling; and any person with supervisory

12 authority over such agent.

13 (c) NATURE OF PROOF.—Proof that the routine in14 vestigatory activities of law enforcement agents in a juris15 diction have had a disparate impact on racial or ethnic

16 minorities shall constitute prima facie evidence of a viola17 tion of this title.

18 (d) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—In any action or proceeding

19 to enforce this title against any governmental unit, the

20 court may allow a prevailing plaintiff, other than the

21 United States, reasonable attorneys’ fees as part of the

22 costs, and may include expert fees as part of the attorney’s

23 fee.
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1 TITLE II—PROGRAMS TO ELIMI2 NATE RACIAL PROFILING BY

3 FEDERAL LAW ENFORCE4 MENT AGENCIES

5 SEC. 201. POLICIES TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Federal law enforcement agencies

7 shall—

8 (1) maintain adequate policies and procedures

9 designed to eliminate racial profiling; and

10 (2) cease existing practices that encourage ra11 cial profiling.

12 (b) POLICIES.—The policies and procedures de13 scribed in subsection (a)(1) shall include the following:

14 (1) A prohibition on racial profiling.

15 (2) The collection of data on routine investiga16 tory activities sufficient to determine if law enforce17 ment agents are engaged in racial profiling and sub18 mission of that data to the Attorney General.

19 (3) Independent procedures for receiving, inves20 tigating, and responding meaningfully to complaints

21 alleging racial profiling by law enforcement agents of

22 the agency.

23 (4) Procedures to discipline law enforcement

24 agents who engage in racial profiling.
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1 (5) Such other policies or procedures that the

2 Attorney General deems necessary to eliminate racial

3 profiling.

4 TITLE III—PROGRAMS TO ELIMI5 NATE RACIAL PROFILING BY

6 STATE AND LOCAL LAW EN7 FORCEMENT AGENCIES

8 SEC. 301. POLICIES REQUIRED FOR GRANTS.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—An application by a State or gov10 ernmental unit for funding under a covered program shall

11 include a certification that such unit and any agency to

12 which it is redistributing program funds—

13 (1) maintains adequate policies and procedures

14 designed to eliminate racial profiling; and

15 (2) has ceased existing practices that encourage

16 racial profiling.

17 (b) POLICIES.—The policies and procedures de18 scribed in subsection (a) shall include the following:

19 (1) A prohibition on racial profiling.

20 (2) The collection of data on routine investiga21 tory activities sufficient to determine if law enforce22 ment agents are engaged in racial profiling and sub23 mission of that data to the Attorney General.
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1 (3) Independent procedures for receiving, inves2 tigating, and responding meaningfully to complaints

3 alleging racial profiling by law enforcement agents.

4 (4) Procedures to discipline law enforcement

5 agents who engage in racial profiling.

6 (5) Such other policies or procedures that the

7 Attorney General deems necessary to eliminate racial

8 profiling.

9 (c) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Attorney General de10 termines that a grantee is not in compliance with condi11 tions established pursuant to this title, the Attorney Gen12 eral shall withhold the grant, in whole or in part, until

13 the grantee establishes compliance. The Attorney General

14 shall provide notice regarding State grants and opportuni15 ties for private parties to present evidence to the Attorney

16 General that a grantee is not in compliance with condi17 tions established pursuant to this title.

18 SEC. 302. BEST PRACTICES DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

19 (a) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General

20 may make grants to States, law enforcement agencies and

21 other governmental units, Indian tribal governments, or

22 other public and private entities to develop and implement

23 best practice devices and systems to ensure the racially

24 neutral administration of justice.
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1 (b) USES.—The funds provided pursuant to sub2 section (a) may be used to support the following activities:

3 (1) Development and implementation of train4 ing to prevent racial profiling and to encourage more

5 respectful interaction with the public.

6 (2) Acquisition and use of technology to facili7 tate the collection of data regarding routine inves8 tigatory activities in order to determine if law en9 forcement agents are engaged in racial profiling.

10 (3) Acquisition and use of technology to verify

11 the accuracy of data collection, including in-car video

12 cameras and portable computer systems.

13 (4) Development and acquisition of early warn14 ing systems and other feedback systems that help

15 identify officers or units of officers engaged in or at

16 risk of racial profiling or other misconduct, including

17 the technology to support such systems.

18 (5) Establishment or improvement of systems

19 and procedures for receiving, investigating, and re20 sponding meaningfully to complaints alleging racial

21 or ethnic bias by law enforcement agents.

22 (6) Establishment or improvement of manage23 ment systems to ensure that supervisors are held ac24 countable for the conduct of their subordinates.
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1 (c) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—The Attorney Gen2 eral shall ensure that grants under this section are award3 ed in a manner that reserves an equitable share of funding

4 for small and rural law enforcement agencies.

5 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—The At6 torney General shall make available such sums as are nec7 essary to carry out this section from amounts appro8 priated for programs administered by the Attorney Gen9 eral.

10 TITLE IV—DEPARTMENT OF JUS11 TICE REPORTS ON RACIAL

12 PROFILING IN THE UNITED

13 STATES

14 SEC. 401. ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ISSUE REPORTS ON RA15 CIAL PROFILING IN THE UNITED STATES.

16 (a) REPORTS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years

18 after the enactment of this Act, and each year there19 after, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress

20 a report on racial profiling by Federal, State, and

21 local law enforcement agencies in the United States.

22 (2) SCOPE.—The reports issued pursuant to

23 paragraph (1) shall include—

24 (A) a summary of data collected pursuant

25 to sections 201(b)(2) and 301(b)(2) and any
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1 other reliable source of information regarding

2 racial profiling in the United States;

3 (B) the status of the adoption and imple4 mentation of policies and procedures by Federal

5 law enforcement agencies pursuant to section

6 201;

7 (C) the status of the adoption and imple8 mentation of policies and procedures by State

9 and local law enforcement agencies pursuant to

10 sections 301 and 302; and

11 (D) a description of any other policies and

12 procedures that the Attorney General believes

13 would facilitate the elimination of racial

14 profiling.

15 (b) DATA COLLECTION.—Not later than six months

16 after the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall

17 by regulation establish standards for the collection of data

18 pursuant to sections 201(b)(2) and 301(b)(2), including

19 standards for setting benchmarks against which collected

20 data shall be measured. Such standards shall result in the

21 collection of data, including data with respect to stops,

22 searches, seizures, and arrests, that is sufficiently detailed

23 to determine whether law enforcement agencies are en24 gaged in racial profiling and to monitor the effectiveness
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1 of policies and procedures designed to eliminate racial

2 profiling.

3 (c) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Data collected pursuant to sec4 tion 201(b)(2) and 301(b)(2) shall be available to the pub5 lic.

6 SEC. 402. LIMITATION ON USE OF DATA.

7 Information released pursuant to section 401 shall

8 not reveal the identity of any individual who is detained

9 or any law enforcement officer involved in a detention.

10 TITLE V—DEFINITIONS AND

11 MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

12 SEC. 501. DEFINITIONS.

13 In this Act:

14 (1) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered

15 program’’ means any program or activity funded in

16 whole or in part with funds made available under

17 any of the following:

18 (A) The Edward Byrne Memorial State

19 and Local Law Enforcement Assistance Pro20 grams (part E of title I of the Omnibus Crime

21 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42

22 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.)).

23 (B) The ‘‘Cops on the Beat’’ program

24 under part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime

25 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42
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1 U.S.C. 3796dd et seq.), but not including any

2 program, project, or other activity specified in

3 section 1701(d)(8) of that Act (42 U.S.C.

4 3796dd(d)(8)).

5 (C) The Local Law Enforcement Block

6 Grant program of the Department of Justice,

7 as described in appropriations Acts.

8 (2) GOVERNMENTAL UNIT.—The term ‘‘govern9 mental unit’’ means any department, agency, special

10 purpose district, or other instrumentality of Federal,

11 State, local, or Indian tribal government.

12 (3) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term

13 ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means a Federal, State,

14 local, or Indian tribal public agency engaged in the

15 prevention, detection, or investigation of violations of

16 criminal, immigration, or customs laws.

17 (4) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT.—The term

18 ‘‘law enforcement agent’’ means any Federal, State,

19 local, or Indian tribal official responsible for enforc20 ing criminal, immigration, or customs laws, includ21 ing police officers and other agents of Federal,

22 State, and local law enforcement agencies.

23 (5) RACIAL PROFILING.—The term ‘‘racial

24 profiling’’ means the practice of a law enforcement

25 agent relying, to any degree, on race, ethnicity, or
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1 national origin in selecting which individuals to sub2 ject to routine investigatory activities, or in deciding

3 upon the scope and substance of law enforcement ac4 tivity following the initial routine investigatory activ5 ity, except that racial profiling does not include reli6 ance on such criteria in combination with other iden7 tifying factors when the law enforcement agent is

8 seeking to apprehend a specific suspect whose race,

9 ethnicity, or national origin is part of the description

10 of the suspect.

11 (6) ROUTINE INVESTIGATORY ACTIVITIES.—The

12 term ‘‘routine investigatory activities’’ includes the

13 following activities by law enforcement agents: traf14 fic stops; pedestrian stops; frisks and other types of

15 body searches; consensual or nonconsensual searches

16 of the persons or possessions (including vehicles) of

17 motorists or pedestrians; inspections and interviews

18 of entrants into the United States that are more ex19 tensive than those customarily carried out; and im20 migration-related workplace investigations.

21 SEC. 502. SEVERABILITY.

22 If any provision of this Act, an amendment made by

23 this Act, or the application of such provision or amend24 ment to any person or circumstance is held to be unconsti25 tutional, the remainder of this Act, the amendments made
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1 by this Act, and the application of the provisions of such

2 to any person or circumstance shall not be affected there3 by.

4 SEC. 503. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

5 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit legal

6 or administrative remedies under section 1979 of the Re7 vised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1983), sec8 tion 210401 of the Violent Crime Control and Law En9 forcement Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14141), the Omnibus

10 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C.

11 3701 et seq.), and title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

12 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.).

13 SEC. 504. EFFECTIVE DATES.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

15 (b), the provisions of this Act shall take effect on the date

16 of the enactment of this Act.

17 (b) CONDITIONS ON FUNDING.—Section 301 shall

18 take effect 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

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