[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 52 (Thursday, April 15, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E673-E674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF TRAFFIC STOPS STATISTICS ACT OF 1999

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR.

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 15, 1999

  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to introduce the Traffic Stops 
Statistics Act of 1999 along with 21 additional cosponsors. Identical 
legislation is being introduced today in the other body by Senators 
Lautenberg, Feingold, and Kennedy.
  Our bill would require the Justice Department to conduct a study of 
racial profiling by acquiring data from law enforcement agencies 
regarding the characteristics of persons stopped for alleged traffic 
violations and the rationale for subsequent searches. The legislation 
is similar to legislation I introduced last Congress (H.R. 118) which 
was approved by the Judiciary Committee on a bipartisan basis and 
passed the House by voice vote on March 24, 1998.

[[Page E674]]

  We have all heard stories of African and Hispanic Americans--
including many well known actors, athletes, law enforcement officers, 
and legislators--who have been stopped for the traffic infraction known 
as ``Driving While Black'' or ``Driving While Brown.'' Our legislation 
will allow us to ascertain the extent such profiling is occurring on a 
nationwide basis, help increase police awareness of the problem, and 
determine if any broader response is warranted.
  The limited data available indicates that the problem of racial 
profiling in traffic stops is serious. For example, a recent study by 
the Orlando Sentinel found that 70% of the persons stopped on I-95 were 
African-American, even though they only made up less than 10% of the 
driver population. A court ordered study in Maryland found that more 
than 70% of drivers stopped on I-95 were African American though they 
made up only 17.5% of drivers, while another study conducted in 
conjunction with a New Jersey civil rights lawsuit found that 
minorities were nearly five times as likely as non-minorities to be 
stopped for traffic violations along that state's turnpike.
  Further evidence of racial profiling by law enforcement was evident 
in the case of State v. Soto, in which Superior Court judge, Robert E. 
Francis ruled that troopers were engaging in racial profiling on the 
southernmost segment of the New Jersey Turnpike. This in turn raises 
troubling questions regarding the extent to which law enforcement 
officials may be unfairly targeting Hispanic and Asian Americans under 
the guise of immigration enforcement.
  If our citizens are to trust our justice system it is imperative that 
all forms of discrimination be eliminated from law enforcement. The 
Traffic Stops Statistics Act of 1999 will help give Congress the tools 
to assess and understand a dangerous form of such discrimination--
racial profiling in traffic stops.

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