I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 253
To provide for the collection of data on traffic stops. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 6, 2005
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
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 2005’’. 
SEC. 2. ATTORNEY GENERAL 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 gather the following data on traf-
fic stops from a nationwide sample of jurisdictions, 
including jurisdictions identified in the initial anal-
ysis: 
(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 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 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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