NHP: Report shows minorities not targeted

Thursday, Jan. 30, 2003 | 9:12 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- A yearlong survey indicates the Nevada Highway Patrol does not single out minority motorists in making traffic stops, Patrol Chief Col. David Hosmer said Wednesday.

"(It) shows we do not have a systemic problem of racial profiling," Hosmer said.

The 2001 Legislature authorized a study of whether law enforcement officers pick on minorities in making traffic stops. Each officer had to fill out a questionnaire after each stop and the information was sent to the state attorney general's office.

Tom Sargent, spokesman for the attorney general, said the information is still being compiled, but Hosmer said he received the final data Wednesday for his agency.

The study recorded 135,144 stops by state troopers, he said.

About 65 percent of Nevada's population is white, and 74.7 percent of the stops were made on white motorists, according to the report.

Blacks account for about 6.6 percent of the state's population, and 5.8 percent of stops were made on black motorists, the report noted.

And about 19.7 percent of the population is Hispanic, and 14.3 percent of stops were made on Hispanic motorists, according to the study. And while Asians make up 4.4 percent of the population, 3.6 percent of the stops were made on Asian motorists.

Other ethnic groups make up 4.1 percent of the population, and 1.6 percent of the stops were made on them, the study said.

Hosmer said a breakdown of the figures by the various parts of the state was not available.