Neal calls for criminalizing of racial profiling

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2003 | 9:47 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- State Sen. Joe Neal wants Nevada to be the first state to make police who conduct racial profiling guilty of a crime.

But lawmakers and law enforcement officials said Monday that Neal's proposal would have a "chilling effect" on police and could impact public safety.

"The safety of the public is, to me, paramount," said Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, during testimony before the Senate Government Affairs Committee. "If I was a peace officer and we passed this piece of legislation, I can't imagine ever stopping someone who was black or Hispanic."

Senate Bill 20 would add punishment to the current state law outlawing racial profiling. SB20 makes it a misdemeanor to engage in the practice, which is most commonly defined as an officer pulling over a motorist based solely on the person's race.

Gary Wolff of the Nevada Highway Patrol Association said the bill would "have a chilling effect" on police. Kristin Erickson, chief deputy district attorney in Washoe County, added that there was no way to prosecute racial profiling as a crime without identifying with certainty what it is.

Neal, D-North Las Vegas, cited the results of a study conducted by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, on nearly 400,000 traffic stops conducted by the Highway Patrol and Southern and Northern Nevada police agencies.

"Blacks and Hispanics are stopped more frequently, handcuffed more frequently and thus charged more frequently than any other individuals in the state," Neal said.

The study was created by the 2001 Legislature in response to anecdotal reports that police in Nevada, like those highlighted in other jurisdictions, were stopping motorists based on the color of their skin.

The report, however, states: "Though the findings show racial disparities in traffic stops, this should not be taken as proof that Nevada law enforcement officers are engaging in racial profiling."

The committee took no action on the bill.