State Bar President Marshall urged support for SB 78. Certainly the problem is pervasive enough and merits study. We need to use the data to promote police practices that furthers confidence in the police force and the justice system. John Crew, Director of the ACLU-NC Police Practices Project noted that within recent months, the police chiefs of San Diego and San Jose had voluntarily agreed to collect data on the race of drivers stopped. These departments are sending a powerful message nationally on this issue.
Sponsors cite strong anecdotal evidence that racial profiling is a problem countrywide.
The national ACLU has also initiated a hotline to collect stories from drivers who have been subject to race-based stops throughout the country.