Chapter 331

2004 -- H 8663 SUBSTITUTE A

Enacted 07/02/04

A N A C T

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES -- RACIAL PROFILING

Introduced By: Representatives Almeida, Ajello, and Williams

Date Introduced: June 16, 2004

It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Title 31 of the General Laws entitled "Motor and Other Vehicles" is hereby

amended by adding thereto the following chapter:

CHAPTER 21.2

RELATING TO MOTOR AND OTHER VEHICLES – RACIAL PROFILING

31-21.2-1. Title. -- This chapter may be cited as “An Act Relating to Motor and Other

Vehicles - Racial Profiling.”

31-21.2-2. Findings. -- (a) Municipal and state law enforcement officers play a vital role

in protecting the public from crime. The vast majority of police officers discharge their duties

professionally and without bias.

(b) The use by police officers of race, ethnicity, or national origin solely in deciding

which persons should be subject to traffic stops, searches and seizures is improper.

(c) In many communities nonwhite drivers in Rhode Island, subjected to discretionary

searches, are twice as likely as whites to be searched.

(d) In some instances, law enforcement practices may have the unintended effect of

promoting racially disparate stops and searches.

(e) Racial profiling harms individuals subjected to it because they experience fear,

anxiety, humiliation, anger, resentment and cynicism when they are unjustifiably treated as

criminal suspects.

(f) Racial profiling damages law enforcement and the criminal justice system as a whole

by undermining public confidence and trust in the police, the courts, and criminal law, and

thereby undermining law enforcement efforts and ability to solve and reduce crime.

(g) A comprehensive solution is needed to address racial profiling at the state and local

levels.

31-21.2-3. Ban on racial profiling. -- No state or municipal law enforcement officer or

law enforcement agency shall engage in racial profiling. For purposes of this chapter, “racial

profiling” means the detention, interdiction or other disparate treatment of an individual on the

basis, in whole or in part, of the racial or ethnic status of such individual, except when such status

is used in combination with other identifying factors seeking to apprehend a specific suspect

whose racial or ethnic status is part of the description of the suspect, which description is timely

and reliable.

31-21.2-4. Enforcement. -- (a) Any individual who alleges a violation of this chapter,

other than section 31-21.2-6, may file a civil action for damages and any appropriate and

equitable relief in Superior Court. The court may allow a prevailing plaintiff reasonable

attorneys’ fees as part of the costs.

31-21.2-5. Law enforcement practices. -- (a) Unless there exists reasonable suspicion or

probable cause of criminal activity, no motor vehicle stopped for a traffic violation shall be

detained beyond the time needed to address the violation. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit

the detention of a motor vehicle for a reasonable period of time for the arrival of a canine unit or

subsequent criminal investigation, if there is reasonable suspicion or probable cause of criminal

activity.

(b) No operator or owner-passenger of a motor vehicle shall be requested to consent to a

search by a law enforcement officer of his or her motor vehicle which is stopped solely for a

traffic violation, unless there exists reasonable suspicion or probable cause of criminal activity.

(c) Any evidence obtained as a result of a search prohibited by subsection (a) or (b) shall

be inadmissible in any judicial proceeding. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to

preclude any search otherwise based upon any legally sufficient cause.

(d) Law enforcement agencies using video and/or audio surveillance cameras in their

vehicles shall adopt written policies and procedures regarding the use of such cameras, which

shall be public records.

(e) The polices and procedures established by this section shall be added to, and

prominently placed in, all relevant departmental policy and training manuals. Other appropriate

training about the requirements of this chapter shall also be provided to all officers.

31-21.2-6. Continued data collection. -- (a) The Rhode Island Justice Commission is

authorized to and shall conduct a study of routine traffic stops by the Rhode Island State Police

and each municipal police department in order to determine whether racial profiling is occurring,

and to examine whether searches of vehicles and motorists are being conducted in a disparate

manner.

(b) The Rhode Island Justice Commission shall, not later than forty-five (45) days after

enactment of this act, develop a form to be used by each police officer when making a traffic stop

to record the data required under this chapter, which form shall include the information listed in

section 31-21.1-4.

(c) The Rhode Island Justice Commission shall advise the Rhode Island State Police and

each municipal police department of the date that data collection shall commence. Data collection

shall begin not later than October 1, 2004, but may begin prior to that time upon notification to

police departments from the Rhode Island Justice Commission.

(d) A traffic stop data collection card shall be completed for each routine traffic stop by

the Rhode Island State Police and municipal police department during the term of this study.

(e) Upon commencement of data collection, and monthly thereafter, each municipal

police department and the Rhode Island State Police shall transmit to the Rhode Island Justice

Commission all forms collected to date of motorists who were stopped, and any other information

the police department or the Rhode Island State Police deem appropriate. Data collection shall

continue for twelve (12) months following commencement of data collection.

(f) Appropriate funding shall be made available to implement the provision of this

chapter, and completion of this study shall be contingent upon such funding.

(g) The study shall include a multivariate analysis of the collected data in accordance

with general statistical standards, and shall be substantially similar to the study prepared pursuant

to chapter 21.1 of this title. The study shall be prepared by an organization, company, person or

other entity with sufficient expertise in the field of statistics and the study of traffic stop data

collection to assist with the implementation of this chapter, and chosen by the Rhode Island

Justice Commission. The study shall be released not later than eighteen (18) months after

commencement of data collection under this chapter. The report, findings and conclusions

submitted pursuant to this subsection shall be a public record.

(h) The Rhode Island Justice Commission shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter

2 of title 37 in connection with its procurement of equipment and services necessary to the

implementation of this chapter.

(i) On a quarterly basis a summary report of the monthly data provided by each police

department and the state police for that quarterly period shall be issued. The report shall be a

public record. The summary report shall include a monthly breakdown by race for each police

department of the number of traffic stops made and of searches conducted, and any other

information deemed appropriate by the Rhode Island Justice Commission. The report shall be

released not more than ninety (90) days after the end of each quarterly period. No information

revealing the identity of any individual shall be contained in the report.

(j) Every law enforcement agency collecting data pursuant to this chapter shall ensure

that supervisory personnel review each officer’s stop and search documentation and data results

on a weekly basis to ensure compliance with all policies, prohibitions and documentation

requirements.

(k) The head of every law enforcement agency subject to this chapter, or his or her

designee, shall review the data on a regular basis in an effort to determine whether any racial

disparities in the agency’s traffic stops enforcement exists, and to appropriately respond to any

such disparities.

(l) An organization chartered for the purpose of combating discrimination, racism, or of

safeguarding civil liberties, or of promoting full, free, or equal employment opportunities, and/or

the Rhode Island Justice Commission may seek appropriate relief in a civil action against any

police department for failing to collect or transmit the data required in this chapter, and may be

awarded its costs, including attorneys’ fees, for bringing such an action. As a condition precedent

to the filing of a civil action by an organization under this section, the organization shall send a

notice to the Rhode Island Justice Commission identifying the police department which is failing

to collect or transmit the data and the organization shall then allow fifteen (15) days to elapse.

(m) The Rhode Island Justice Commission shall consult with community, police and civil

rights representatives, as the executive director deems appropriate, in the development of the

form required by subsection (b) and on other issues that arise relating to the implementation and

enforcement of this chapter.

31-21.2-7. Data collection and use. -- (a) Data acquired under this chapter shall not be

used in any legal proceeding to establish an inference of discrimination except by court order;

provided, however, that use of the data for this purpose shall be allowed only upon completion of

the study authorized by section 31-21.2-6. All data collected pursuant to this chapter shall be

public. For those motor vehicle stops where a citation was issued or an arrest was made, the

forms prepared pursuant to subsection 6(b) of this chapter shall include a citation or arrest

number for reference. The data collection form shall not include the name or badge number of the

officer completing the form.

(b) Any police officer who in good faith records traffic stop information pursuant to the

requirements of this chapter shall not be held civilly liable for the act of recording the information

unless the officer’s conduct was reckless.

31-21.2-8. Complaint procedures. -- (a) Each state and municipal law enforcement

agency shall establish a procedure to investigate complaints of police misconduct by members of

the public against personnel of these agencies, and shall make a written description of the

procedure available to the public. Copies of any departmental complaint forms shall be available

in at least one governmental location other than the police department. The procedure and forms

shall also be made available on any website of a law enforcement agency.

(b) At a minimum, complaints shall be accepted in person by mail or by facsimile.

(c) Information on the complaints received by each law enforcement agency shall be

submitted on an annual basis under uniform criteria established by the Select Commission on

Race and Police-Community Relations. The information provided by each department shall

include the total number of complaints received, a breakdown by category of the type of

complaint and a further breakdown by category of the disposition of the complaints.

     SECTION 2. Section 31-21.1-6 of the General Laws in Chapter 31-21.1 entitled "Traffic

Stops Statistics" is hereby amended to read as follows:

31-21.1-6. Data collection and use. -- (a) Except as otherwise specified in this chapter,

data acquired under this section shall be used only for: (1) research or statistical purposes. Data

acquired under this chapter shall not be used; or (2) in any legal or administrative proceeding to

establish an inference of discrimination on the basis of particular identifying characteristics,

except by court order. However, during the collection of data, the information and forms

collected pursuant to this chapter shall be public for those stops where a citation was issued or an

arrest was made, and the forms shall include a citation or arrest number for reference. All data

collected pursuant to this chapter shall be made public upon the completion of the study and the

submission of the report; provided, that any complaints filed pursuant to section 31-21.1-4(c)(2)

shall be subject to the provisions of chapter 28.6 of title 42.

      (b) Any police officer who in good faith records traffic stop information pursuant to the

requirements of this chapter shall not be held civilly liable for the act of recording the information

unless the officer's conduct was reckless.

     SECTION 3. Section 42-137-5 of the General Laws in Chapter 42-137 entitled "The

Select Commission on Race and Police-Community Relations Act" is hereby amended to read as

follows:

42-137-5. Duties. -- The select commission shall:

      (a) Analyze and recommend changes that will improve police-community relations in

Rhode Island.

      (b) Study and recommend changes needed to statutes, ordinances, institutional policies,

procedures and practices deemed necessary to:

      (1) Improve law enforcement work and accountability;

      (2) Reduce racism;

      (3) Enhance the administration of justice; and

      (4) Affect reconciliation between diverse segments of the statewide community.

      (c) Study, recommend, promote and implement methods to achieve greater citizen

participation in law enforcement policy development, review of law enforcement practices, and

advocacy for the needs of law enforcement agencies, officers, and the public at large in the

prevention of crime, administration of justice and public safety.

      (d) Study, recommend, promote and assist in the incorporation of evolving homeland

security needs with effective models of neighborhood-oriented community policing, crime

prevention and public safety.

      (e) Promote greater understanding of the need to incorporate cultural diversity in

everyday as well as extraordinary activities involving law enforcement, public safety and the

administration of justice.

      (f) Analyze, review, recommend, assist in and monitor changes to police policies,

procedures and practices related to:

      (1) Recruitment, hiring, promotion and training of police officers;

      (2) The level and quality of diversity training, sensitivity awareness and cultural

competency;

      (3) The level and quality of efforts related to building and improving overall community

relations;

      (4) The use of firearms by on-duty and off-duty police officers;

      (5) The use of force, the use of excessive force or the excessive use of force;

      (6) The use of racial profiling and other forms of bias based policing; and

      (7) Legislation reforming police policies, practices, or procedures involving community

relations.

      (g) To assist the select commission in its duties pursuant to subsection (f), all police

departments shall submit to the select commission on an annual basis beginning on January 15,

2004, and for three (3) six (6) years thereafter, a report indicating what action, if any has been

taken, to address any racial disparities in traffic stops and/or searches documented in the study

authorized by sections 31-21.1-4 and 31-21.2-6, and to otherwise implement any

recommendations of that study. The reports shall be public records.

(h) Collect and publish data regarding complaints of police misconduct pursuant to

section 31-21.2-28.

     SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.

=======

LC03666/SUB A

=======