Racial Profiling
Purpose
To gather data to comply with racial profiling legislation and to ensure that racial profiling is not practiced by ACC Campus Police Officers.
Policy
The Austin Community College Police Department strictly prohibits officers from engaging in racial profiling. Racial profiling means a law enforcement initiated action based on an individual’s race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the individual’s behavior or on information identifying the individual as having been engaged in criminal activity.
Background
Law enforcement officers in some regions of the country have been accused of conducting excessive and unwarranted race-based traffic stops a problem known as racial profiling. Complaints have risen in recent years and the problems have received a great deal of publicity. Former President Clinton issued an executive order in June 1999 to all federal law enforcement agencies to gather data to address the racial profiling problem. Former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno ordered the Justice Department to conduct a study of police traffic stops and racial profiling.
Many groups, including state and local law enforcement agencies, have implemented methods to document, measure, and address this concern. We have the utmost confidence in our department and believe that collecting this data is consistent with our professional tradition and high standards. The compiled data is used to assess training needs and submit reports as required by state law.
Complaint Procedures
Complaints may be submitted on either the Austin Community College Police Department Complaint Form or in any other format.
Rules
An officer found in violation of this policy will face disciplinary action.
