This is not a short-term concern. Data collected thus far at sites around the country, public opinion polls, and testimony presented at hearings here in the Twin Cities all indicate that racial profiling is a widespread civil rights violation, one that warrants ongoing monitoring of law enforcement officers and agencies. Also, the requirement of recording the race of every driver stopped may deter law enforcement officers from making improper racially motivated stops. The benefits of this deterrent effect should be reaped indefinitely. The Missouri law requires each law enforcement agency to adopt procedures for determining whether any officers have a pattern of disproportionately stopping people of color, and to provide counseling and training to any such officers.
New bills introduced in Illinois, Indiana and Texas contain similar provisions.
The ability of police agencies to identify and address problem officers is necessary to an effective response to a finding of racial profiling. Unlike the other two Minnesota bills, Representative Gray s bill requires that the officer s badge number be included in the record of each stop. Under this bill, the identity of individual officers would not be public information, but would be solely for internal use by the law enforcement agencies in identifying officers who may need additional training or other remedial attention. The Saint Paul Police Department currently uses a similar system, which has allowed the department to identify a small number of officers whose disproportionate stopping of African Americans was handled within the department. Establishment of an Advisory Committee of Legislators, Police Representatives and Community Representatives Rhode Island s statute includes a provision calling for the creation of a racial profiling advisory board to work with the attorney general in designing the data collection program, and choosing the independent analyst to analyze the data.