    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1999, Book I)]
    [June 9, 1999]
    [Pages 906-907]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Memorandum on Fairness in Law Enforcement
    June 9, 1999

    Memorandum for the Secretary of the Treasury, the Attorney General, the
    Secretary of the Interior

    Subject: Fairness in Law Enforcement: Collection of Data

        We must work together to build the trust of all Americans in law
    enforcement. We have great confidence in our Federal law enforcement
    officers and know that they strive to uphold the best principles of law
    enforcement in our democratic society. We cannot tolerate, however,
    officers who cross the line and abuse their position by mistreating law-
    abiding individuals or who bring their own racial bias to the job. No
    person should be subject to excessive force, and no person should be
    targeted by law enforcement because of the color of his or her skin.
        Stopping or searching individuals on the basis of race is not
    effective law enforcement policy, and is not consistent with our
    democratic ideals, especially our commitment to equal protection under
    the law for all persons. It is neither legitimate nor defensible as a
    strategy for public protection. It is simply wrong.
        To begin addressing the problem of racial profiling, Federal
    agencies should collect more data at all levels of law enforcement to
    better define the scope of the problem. The systematic collection of
    statistics and information regarding Federal law enforcement activities
    can increase the fairness of our law enforcement practices. Tracking the
    race, ethnicity, and gender of those who are stopped or searched by law
    enforcement will help to determine where problems exist, and guide the
    development of solutions.
        I therefore direct you to design and implement a system to collect
    and report statistics relating to race, ethnicity, and gender for law
    enforcement activities in your department. Specifically, you shall:
           (1)  develop a proposal within 120 days, in consultation with the
                Attorney General, for a system of data collection and an
                implementation plan for a field test of that system,
                including the law enforcement agency components, sites, data
                sets, training, and other methods and procedures to be
                included in the field testing. You shall implement field
                tests within 60 days of finalizing their proposals;
           (2)  to the extent practicable, collect data that is sufficiently
                detailed to permit an analysis of actions relevant to the
                activities of the included law enforcement agencies by

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                race, ethnicity, or gender. Such actions may include traffic
                stops, pedestrian stops, a more extensive inspection or
                interview than that customarily conducted with entrants to
                the United States, requests for consent to search, or
                warrantless searches. Data acquired pursuant to this
                memorandum may not contain any information that may reveal
                the identity of any individual; and
           (3)  provide to the Attorney General a summary of the information
                collected during the first year of your field test,
                including civilian complaints received alleging bias based
                on the race, ethnicity, or gender of the complainant in law
                enforcement activities; your process for investigating and
                resolving such complaints; and the outcomes of any such
                investigations. The Attorney General shall report to me, in
                consultation with relevant agency heads, on the results of
                the field tests with: (i) an evaluation of the first year of
                the field test; (ii) an implementation plan to expand the
                data collection and reporting system to other components and
                locations within the agency and to make such system
                permanent; and (iii) recommendations to improve the fair
                administration of law enforcement activities.
        In addition, within 120 days of the date of this directive, you
    shall provide a report to me on your training programs, policies, and
    practices regarding the use of race, ethnicity, and gender in your law
    enforcement activities, along with recommendations for improving those
    programs, policies, and practices.

                                                          William J. Clinton