APD sure racial profiling is avoided; 3/27/2008
AMARILLO GLOBE-NEWS: The Amarillo Police Department is confident it's doing the job the public wants. APD released its 2007 racial profiling data Tuesday and said it shows the police are enforcing laws and conducting searches without regard to race. "We feel very confident and comfortable we are responding to concerns and complaints from the public," said APD Cpl. Jerry Neufeld. "During 2007, we had zero complaints from the public of racial profiling - that speaks volumes." The numbers show Amarillo police have stopped 32,859 people in 2007, arrested 1,348 and ticketed 22,743.
TCJC calls for uniform reports of racial profiling; 4/02/2007
THE MONITOR: Several law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Edinburg Police Department, still overuse consent searches during traffic stops, according to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition’s Campaign to End Racial Profiling. Its third annual report, released in mid-February, indicates consent searches — which take place when an officer does not have probable cause to search either an individual or a vehicle but still asks to do so — rarely uncover contraband and are more likely to target minorities.
OFFICER.COM: Several law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Edinburg Police Department, still overuse consent searches during traffic stops, according to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition's Campaign to End Racial Profiling. Its third annual report, released in mid-February, indicates consent searches -- which take place when an officer does not have probable cause to search either an individual or a vehicle but still asks to do so -- rarely uncover contraband and are more likely to target minorities.
Opinions mixed on profiling measure; 3/19/2007
Texas Searches Still More Likely for Minorities; 3/06/2006
OFFICER.COM: Minorities were still being searched more often than whites during traffic stops in Texas as recently as 2004, although the rate was declining, a new study indicates. The study also found that almost half of the state's law enforcement agencies reported a decrease in racial disparity among those searched in traffic-related stops, according to figures from 2004, the most recent year for which totals were available. In Houston and neighboring Fort Bend County, however, some numbers remained high, according to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
Observer heartened by police racial statistics; 3/02/2006
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: It's that time of year when police departments report statistics on traffic stops, searches and arrests, as required by the state law against racial profiling. Sometimes it seems like a ceremonial dance, with similar results and no change. But this year one observer says things are looking up in Garland, even though – for the fourth consecutive year – the numbers for 2005 show that police stopped, searched and arrested black and Hispanic residents at higher rates than their percentage of the city's population.
Hispanics, blacks searched more often after traffic stops; 3/03/2006
DALLAS MORNING NEWS: Highland Park police continue to search a higher percentage of blacks and Hispanics they stop for traffic violations than whites, according to a recently released report. Highland Park Chief Darrell Fant presented the state-mandated report compiled by his public safety department to the Town Council this week.
Group: Consent searches overused in Texas; 3/27/2006
EDINBURG — Several law enforcement agencies across the state, including the Edinburg Police Department, still overuse consent searches during traffic stops, according to the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition’s Campaign to End Racial Profiling. Its third annual report, released in mid-February, indicates consent searches — which take place when an officer does not have probable cause to search either an individualor a vehicle but still asks to do so —rarely uncover contraband and are more likely to target minorities.
Police Brutality Trial Starts; 3/27/2006
KXAN-AUSTIN: During the past year, we've heard many claims of police brutality in Austin. Now, for the first time since 2002, one of those claims has put two officers on trial. Those two police officers are William Heilman and Christopher Gray. They're accused of beating Ramon Hernandez last year while he was in their custody. In the past few years, we've heard names like Daniel Rocha, Michael Clark, Jesse Owens and Sofia King.
More Damning Data Against Racial Profiling; 2/24/2006
AUSTIN CHRONICLE: The Texas Criminal Justice Coalition's third annual report on racial profiling in police traffic stops reveals that while so-called "consent" searches are down, such searches are still more likely to be used against minorities. Consent searches are a discretionary law enforcement tool in which an officer requests permission to search a person or vehicle but has no legal reason – such as probable cause – to do so.
Study shows racial profiling in searches; 2/22/2006
MIDLAND REPORTER TELEGRAM: Midland Police Department officers are more likely to ask black and Hispanic motorists to submit to voluntary searches than they are to ask white drivers, according to a study released by an alliance of civil rights groups. The study released last week by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition analyzes 2004 data from 201 police agencies in Texas and focuses on the practice of consent searches, where officers lack probable cause to search a vehicle and instead ask for a driver's permission.
Black motorists under scrutiny; 2/20/2006
THE DAILY TEXAN: Law enforcement officials in San Antonio and Alamo Heights are more likely to ask black motorists to submit to voluntary searches than they are to ask white drivers, according to a study released by an alliance of civil rights groups. The results came four years after Texas banned racial profiling by police. Activists say the data stands as proof that the state still has a long way to come in the battle against racial profiling.
Report Suggests More Black Drivers Searched by Amarillo Police; 2/16/2006
KAMR 4-AMARILLO: Racial profiling is something that many believe, or at least hope, isn’t happening. The data in a report released Thursday, however, shows that during traffic stops, Amarillo Police ask black drivers for a consent search disproportionately more than other races. "We found in the past that consent searches rarely result in findings of contraband and are ineffective and are directing officers time away from preventing actual crimes," says Molly Totman, an analyst for Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.
Racial divide in some consent searches narrows statewide, report says; 2/16/2006
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: Racial disparities in police searches decreased in more than half of Texas law enforcement agencies in 2004, although most departments continued searching African Americans and Hispanics at higher rates than Anglos, according to a report released Thursday by the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.