Oct 8th, 2009
Posted by Nahal Zamani, Human Rights Program at 3:53pm	Human Rights, Racial Profiling

Profile-Me-Not

In a letter to the Obama administration made public today, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) expressed concerns over a lack of progress to end racial discrimination in the United States. In particular, the letter urged the Obama administration and Congress to do more to end racial profiling, like passing the End Racial Profiling Act and reconsidering the 287(g) program. Monday's announcement that the federal government will investigate allegations of bias against Latino crime victims by police in Suffolk County, New York is an encouraging step, though there is plenty more to be done.

You may remember that the ACLU advocates before the CERD Committee on the status of racial profiling and discrimination in the United States. This summer, we issued (along with the Rights Working Group) a report on the pervasive problem of racial profiling, and in December 2007, a comprehensive analysis of racial discrimination in the US.

ACLU affiliates across the country are leading the charge to end racial profiling on state and local levels. Following the launch of the ACLU of West Virginia's Campaign to End Racial Profiling and a standing room only symposium on community and law enforcement relations, it was recently announced that the Charleston Police Department will require its officers to receive anti-racial profiling training.

In Maryland, the ACLU has been working to keep the pressure on the Maryland State Police (MSP), who – despite being sued for profiling drivers of color on I-95 back in the '90s – appear to have done little to eradicate the practice. Data shows that drivers of color continue to be stopped at disproportionate rates, and the MSP is refusing to turn over documents that would show whether it is meaningfully investigating complaints by drivers.

Both Illinois and New Jersey won significant legislative victories this session that will bring transparency to police practices in the two states. In Illinois, legislation extending the collection and analysis of data about all traffic stops will help to detect and deter bias-based policing. And in New Jersey, a new bill will make permanent the monitoring instituted in 1999 to combat racial profiling by the state police on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The Rhode Island ACLU is in court today arguing that detaining car passengers based on an officer's "hunch" that they look undocumented amounts to racial profiling.

And in Texas – where the Shelby County District Attorney is facing a federal lawsuit over a scheme in which authorities pull over mostly African-American motorists without cause, ask if they are carrying cash and, if so, order them to sign over the cash to the town or face felony charges of money laundering or other serious crimes – the ACLU recently filed a brief opposing the DA's request to use the seized money to defend herself.

Go, Team ACLU!

- Nahal Zamani, Human Rights Program and Nicole Kief, Racial Justice Program

Permalink |	Human Rights, Racial Profiling

Tags: CERD

1. Anonymously Says:
   Oct 9th, 2009 at 4:12pm

   Claimants under Title VII and other similar legalities that are federal workers have been receiving crime victim’s hearings on reinstatement to duty status because of political jurisdiction assertions which is illegal.

   It is best the legislator’s enhance the administrative remedy process as a court function only because of the illegal conflict to the law that has been forced. Therefore, these cases can be properly assigned, claimants having the right to file in global and world courts due to seek asylum for harassment to shear poverty and bitterness for lack of due process.

   Based on one year to 24 months of stock piled administrative procedures the government and their agency should go before the United States justices for asserting political jurisdictions to the law.

   The loyalist decided that based on the suits of discriminatory practices filed by the claimants, there goes the justification to bar administrative remedies and or reinstatement to any status.

2. Melody Says:
   Oct 11th, 2009 at 11:11am

   You people are fucking nuts aren't you? How a few can chnage what this country was built upon and think your doing good for all people is absolutely ludicrous. You bash crosses and the allowing of the ten commanments in court rooms and you want to take God out of everything... I am not a religous person but I have seen what has happened when persons such as yourself (a few) took him from schools, with both parents working these days, schools not allowed to punsih any longer with paddles, God nowhere to be seen our children because of your victorious efforts they realize no one is watching, they have no consequenses for bad behavior... what's wrong with crosses and God and our Ten Commanments being anywhere...Oh wait you must all be radical librals so that if you don't like something...NO ONE can like it or have it instead of just leaving things alone and allowing individuals, schools, judges, etc. to choose what the feel is right for their own situation... And when one of you can look anyone in the eye who has had a killer who was released from prison to turn around and kill a mother of 5 for a mere $45.00 and you have to watch that man live and use your organization for frivilous law suits while in prison... one in which he wanted crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy Oh yeah, he won that... You people and your organization disgust me... but, I won't go protesting you as you too have the right, in this country that was built on higher standards than you'll ever represent but, before you you have the resorces to do the right things for individuals and groups and you only do whats right for you and your organization not everyone and surely not whats right for the children of that slain mother...think about it.

3. Maggie Says:
   Oct 13th, 2009 at 11:36am

   Question: Are these people being profiled live in an area were the majority are a certain racial group? If so then your figures would be off.

4. Paen Says:
   Oct 13th, 2009 at 12:56pm

   Maybe someone should explain to Shelby County D.A. what extortion is.

5. roald Says:
   Oct 20th, 2009 at 1:38pm

   Maggie - Read the report. The numbers are normalized to the population.

6. Anonymous Says:
   Nov 5th, 2009 at 2:39pm

   Paddles in schools I didn’t realize we regressed back to corporal punishment!!! It has been statistically proven that corporal punishment has more negative effects on children then positive ones and it seems some of you are suggesting that this is not an issue. That’s easy to say when you’re not being racially profiled against. Oh and to whatever case example you guys are throwing out there that is an irrelevant fallacy of pleading to emotion.

7. Anonymous Says:
   Nov 5th, 2009 at 2:40pm

   Paddles in schools I didn’t realize we regressed back to corporal punishment!!! It has been statistically proven that corporal punishment has more negative effects on children then positive ones and it seems some of you are suggesting that this is not an issue. That’s easy to say when you’re not being racially profiled against. Oh and to whatever case example you guys are throwing out there that is an irrelevant fallacy of pleading to emotion.

8. Anonymous Says:
   Nov 5th, 2009 at 2:40pm

   Paddles in schools I didn’t realize we regressed back to corporal punishment!!! It has been statistically proven that corporal punishment has more negative effects on children then positive ones and it seems some of you are suggesting that this is not an issue. That’s easy to say when you’re not being racially profiled against. Oh and to whatever case example you guys are throwing out there that is an irrelevant fallacy of pleading to emotion.

Name

E-mail

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Homepage

• Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd>
• Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

What code is in the image? *

Enter the characters shown in the image. Ignore spaces and be careful about upper and lower case.