Racial profiling has become a major issue in recent years as minority groups have highlighted what they see as police harassment on the roadways. Several police departments are studying the ethnicity of citizens who are pulled over in traffic stops. A Detroit study released by the Michigan State Police in July found that black motorists stopped by police in the city were far more likely to be searched than their white counterparts. Ronald Davis, an Oakland police captain and a regional vice president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, told audience members at the conference that studies of racial profiling must be designed carefully. Davis' group is trying to bring attention to racial bias in police work.
Someone needs to be in the forefront.
In October, internal documents revealed that the leadership of the New Jersey state troopers long knew that officers were targeting minorities. In San Diego, a study during the first six months of this year found that Hispanics made up half of all drivers who were searched or whose cars were searched in traffic stops. An estimated 20 percent of the city's residents of driving age are Hispanic. The study also found that blacks accounted for 12 percent of those pulled over, even though they make up an estimated 8 percent of the city's residents of driving age. Police in San Diego are analyzing the results.