A new law went into effect yesterday requiring state police officers to indicate the race and gender of motorists who they ticket or whose vehicles they search. As the first step in an attempt to curb racial profiling, this law will provide the state’s public safety office and the Registry of Motor Vehicles with the data to evaluate the frequency and severity of racial profiling in the state. In addition, people who suspect they were stopped unfairly because of race or gender can call the new toll-free hotline to connect with police departments to investigate the allegations.
Massachusetts has taken the lead in creating and implementing legislation to combat this national issue. The state is one of seven that requires such race documentation for traffic stops and to report their findings to the Legislature, and it is one of three states that implemented this legislation in direct response to community concerns, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures website. The law also follows the introduction of the Racial Profiling Prohibition Act of 2001 in the House of Representatives on March 8.
At this point, opponents of racial profiling have little substantial statistics that prove that the extent of the problem because few conclusive studies exist. For example, while a Justice Department study released last month indicated that officers stop more black and Hispanic drivers compared to whites, this data did not indicate whether these motorists were stopped because of race prejudice or because they tended to commit more traffic offenses than their white counterparts. By noting race and gender along with the alleged violations of stopped motorists, this data would be a more comprehensive and practical means of analyzing racial profiling.
The introduction of this law also indicates that the state government is serious about addressing this problem. Furthermore, Boston police have discussed the problem with community and civil rights groups for the past two years. Since several communities and individuals have expressed their concerns about unfair treatment by the police, the government and police departments have an obligation to investigate and try to eliminate it. The state should continue to take the initiative to document and investigate instances of perceived injustice.
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