I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1778
To provide for the collection of data on traffic stops.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 9, 2001
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas (for herself and Ms. CARSON of Indiana) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Judici-
ary
A BILL
To provide for the collection of data on traffic stops.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Traffic Stops Along
the Border Statistics Study Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CONDUCT STUDY.
(a) STUDY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall
conduct a nationwide study of stops for traffic viola-
tions by law enforcement officers.
(2) INITIAL ANALYSIS.—The Attorney General
shall perform an initial analysis of existing data, in-
cluding complaints alleging, and other information
concerning, traffic stops motivated by race and other
bias.
(3) DATA
COLLECTION.—After completion of
the initial analysis under paragraph (2), the Attor-
ney General shall then gather the following data on
traffic stops from a nationwide sample of jurisdic-
tions, including jurisdictions identified in the initial
analysis:
(A) The traffic infraction alleged to have
been committed that led to the stop.
(B) Identifying characteristics of the driver
stopped, including the race, gender, ethnicity,
and approximate age of the driver.
(C) Whether immigration status was ques-
tioned, immigration documents were requested,
or an inquiry was made to the Immigration and
Naturalization Service with regard to any indi-
vidual in the vehicle and whether any individual
in the vehicle was turned over to immigration
officials.
(D) The number of stops conducted within
25 miles of the United States border with Mex-
ico compared with the number of stops con-
ducted within 25 miles of the United States
border with Canada.
(E) The number of individuals in the
stopped vehicle.
(F) Whether a search was instituted as a
result of the stop and whether consent was re-
quested for the search.
(G) Any alleged criminal behavior by the
driver that justified the search.
(H) Any items seized, including contra-
band or money.
(I) Whether any warning or citation was
issued as a result of the stop.
(J) Whether an arrest was made as a re-
sult of either the stop or the search and the
justification for the arrest.
(K) The duration of the stop.
(b) REPORTING.—Not later than 120 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney General
shall report the results of its initial analysis to Congress,
and make such report available to the public, and identify
the jurisdictions for which the study is to be conducted.
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Attorney General shall report the results
of the data collected under this Act to Congress, a copy
of which shall also be published in the Federal Register.
SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM.
In order to complete the study described in section
2, the Attorney General may provide grants to law en-
forcement agencies to collect and submit the data de-
scribed in section 2 to the appropriate agency as des-
ignated by the Attorney General.
SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON USE OF DATA.
Information released pursuant to section 2 shall not
reveal the identity of any individual who is stopped or any
law enforcement officer involved in a traffic stop.
SEC. 5. DEFINITION.
For purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘law enforcement
agency’’ means an agency of a State or political subdivi-
sion of a State, authorized by law or by a Federal, State,
or local government agency to engage in or supervise the
prevention, detection, or investigation of violations of
criminal laws.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums
as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
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