Racial profiling survey delayed

Friday, Sept. 21, 2001 | 9:07 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa says the trial run for the new racial profiling study has been delayed until Oct. 29 while more information is gathered.

The two-month test period for law enforcement officers in Clark and Washoe counties to record data on traffic stops to see if minorities or poor people were singled out, was supposed to start Oct. 1. Del Papa said a public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Reno to take additional testimony.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada and Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, urged that the names of the officers be included on each card that is filled out on each stop, but it doesn't appear that the card that is being issued will will identify the officers.

Gary Peck, executive director of the ACLU, told a public hearing in Las Vegas on Sept. 10 that failing to identify the officer will erode the public confidence in the study. He said law enforcement is trying to insulate itself from possible embarrassment, possible lawsuits and being held accountable.

First Assistant Attorney General Tom Patton said Wednesday the law requires all identification to be confidential, and there is nothing in the law to require the gathering of the identity of the individual officers.

After the Reno public hearing, Patton said he would meet with law enforcement officials from the Nevada Highway Patrol, Metro Police, the Washoe County Sheriff's Office and police departments from North Las Vegas, Henderson, Boulder City, Mesquite, Reno and Sparks. They will come up with the final data collection form to be used.

Patton said some changes are being considered in the final document. "A very productive dialogue on the issues of potential biases in policing and the process of traffic stop data collection is ongoing between law enforcement and the communities they serve," Patton said.

But the attorney general's office, in a press release, also said, "The law provides that any identifying information concerning individual officers or drivers is to be maintained as confidential, and thus with the exception of the collection of the driver's license number for the sole purpose of allowing for random data validity review, such information is not collected and no such information will be disclosed."

At the Las Vegas meeting, Sheriff Jerry Keller said identifying the officers on the information forms would lead to a de-policing situation in which officers start making traffic stops based on population.

After the test period, the study will begin and the information will be compiled by the attorney general's office, to be presented to the 2003 Legislature to determine if law enforcement is practicing racial profiling in the traffic stops.

It will take an officer about one minute to fill out the sheet after he has completed the traffic stop. He will include the reason for the stop, what law may have been violated, if the driver is local, the race, estimated age, immigration status and sex of the driver, number of persons in the car, what action was taken and whether the driver was handcuffed at any time.