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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-02-14 City Council (10)TO: City of Palo Alto C ty Manager’s Report HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: POLICE DATE: SUBJECT: FEBRUARY 14, 2000 CMR:145:00 POLICE DEPARTMENT’S RACIAL PROFILING POLICY This is an informational report and no Council action is req~ired. BACKGROUND Over the last several years, the issue of police officers initiating car stops based upon race has been discussed and debated. While legislation that would require police departments to gather and track demographic information has not yet been adopted at either the federal or state levels, a number of police departments have voluntarily chosen to gather and report on the information. As a result, the City Manager directed the Police Chief to promulgate a policy for the Palo Alto Police Department regarding the issue of "police profiling" or "driving while black." After researching the issue, the Police Chief developed the attached policy statement and submitted it to the City Manager for review and approval. On February 7, 2000, the policy was officially issued and distributed to all Police personnel. Police staff will also receive training on this policy. DISCUSSION Beginning on July 1, 2000, the Police Department will begin collecting information, including the race, gender, age and reason for all vehicles that are stopped and all public contacts that are initiated for which there is currently not any documentation. For those arrests, citations, field interviews, and contacts that are currently documented, that information shall be included in the reports. Staff has chosen the July 1 date in order to provide time to determine how best to collect and track the information. Staff hopes to be able to use the new Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) CMR:145:00 Page I of 2 system for this purpose, but if that is not feasible, the information will be manually gathered and tracked. The Police Department will submit quarterly reports to the City Council and the community regarding the information collected. RESOURCE IMPACT Staff believes that this policy can be implemented without additional resources. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This policy is consistent with other City policies. ATTACHMENTS Police Chief’s Memorandum "Response to Police Profiling Questions" PREPARED BY: Patrick Dwyer, Chief of Police DEPARTMENT HEAD: CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: Patrick D,Chief of Police c F1 CMR:145:00 Page 2 of 2 PALO ALTO POLICE DEPARTMENT Memorandum Februm’y 9, 2000 TO: FROM: SUBJECT: All Police Personnel Pat Dwyer, Chief of Police Police Departmeht Response to "Profiling" Questions BACKGROUND Over the past several years perhaps no topic related to the administration of criminal justice in America has generated as much controversy (or newspaper ink) as the issue of"Driving While Black" or "Profiling." At the national level, on June 9, 1999, President Clinton issued the "Executive Memorandum on Fairness in Law Enforcement" requiring federal law enforcement agencies to collect data on the race and ethnicity of individuals contacted during public encounters. Federal law enforcement agencies and courts are currently in the process of developing responses to this presidential directive. In congress, Representative John Conyers (D-Mich.) introduced HR 1443, The Traffic Stop Statistics Act of 1999, which, if passed, will require the collection of a variety of statistics emanating from all police traffic stops. Those statistics would include: nature of the infraction, race, gender, ethnicity, age, number of individuals in the vehicle, whether immigration status was questioned, whether a search was conducted, items seized, duration of the stop and disposition. The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has initiated a continuing series of discussions with the ultimate goal of establishing model policies for professional traffic stops. As stated in a recent IACP publication, "...profiling is neither legal, consistent with democratic ideals, values and principles of American policing, nor in any way a legitimate and defensible public protection strategy. It is not, cannot, and will not be tolerated by the police profession." At the 106th IACP Annual Conference, which I recently attended in Charlotte, the IACP formally adopted two related resolutions: (1) Condemning Racial and Ethnic Profiling in Traffic Stops and (2) Professional Police Contacts. Here in California, in 1999 State Senator Kevin Murray introduced SB 78 requiring collection of specified data regarding traffic stops. The legislation passed but was vetoed by Governor Davis. His veto notwithstanding, Governor Davis requested that the.Highway Patrol collect and analyze data from all traffic stops made by the CHP beginning in January of 2000. The CHP has complied with this request and is now collecting data based on a manual reporting system. A number of California jurisdictions, including San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Mountain View and Santa Clara County have either initiated data collection programs or committed to do so in the near future. Many California police chiefs believe that legislation similar to SB 78 will pass and become law when it is re-introduced this year. Potential liability issues associated with "profiling" were recently illustrated when a federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld a $245,000 judgement, including $70,000 in punitive damages, against the City of Torrance. Locally, here in the City of Palo Alto, a relatively small but highly publicized number of incidents have generated community interest. Examples include an incident reported in the December 8th edition of the Weekly, wherein a motorist pulled over for a traffic violation alleged that he was stopped because he was black. He additionally complained about the department’s "over-response" to the incident. Significantly, when contacted for the Weekly article, both the local ACLU and the NAACP reported that they had no recent complaints regarding unfair treatment by the Palo Alto Police Department. Local media attention also included a Mercury News colunm written by Loretta Green, in which she documented a number of interactions between members of her own family and the Palo Alto Police Department over a period of years. That column generated a number of letters supportive of Ms. Green to the editor in the Mercury. The Palo Alto Human Relations Commission expressed interest in this issue and invited me to address the Commission on December 9, 1999. I addressed the Commission and provided racial statistics on traffic citations, arrests and field interviews for FY 1998-99. I also informed the Commission that in calendar year 1998 the Department had received three complaints of alleged discrimination and that to date in 1999 the Department had received three alleged complaints of discrimination. ANALYSIS The effectiveness of the Police Department depends in large measure on maintaining the trust and confidence of our entire community. Discriminatory practices, whether they are real or perceived, erode that trust and confidence and thereby reduce the Department’s overall effectiveness. The Palo Alto Police Department strives to create an organizational culture, which is intolerant of discriminatory behaviors and is committed to protecting the rights and dignity of every person in this community. These noble commitments notwithstanding, the Department is mindful that there are members of the community who, for a variety of reasons, honestly believe that racial profiling by this police department occurs. Such beliefs may be rooted in their own past experiences, based on second hand information, or incited by media hype. Regardless of the source, it is incumbent on the Police Department to change those beliefs.. Unfortunately, too much of the media hype surrounding the "Driving While Black" or "profiling" issue has focused upon the collection of statistics. While such a focus may sell newspapers, it produces a somewhat shallow insight into an important and complex problem. At best, statistics provide some potential to identify problem trends. At worst, they are easily manipulated and, some suggest may deter officers from legitimate and proper public contacts and/or detentions. As I stated in my presentation to the Human Relations Commission, what is far more important than the collection of statistics is what is in the hearts and minds of our officers. Certainly, I am interested in the racial and ethnic characteristics of the people we detain, cite or an’est, i am far more interested in insuring that every officer of this Department act in a manner which is consistent with the law, consistent with Departmental policy, demonstrates respect for the rights and dignity of every person, and which shows an appreciation for our diverse culture. The question of whether collection of statistics on police contacts would deter officers properly executing their duties merits some brief discussion. It is essential for officers to understand that there is no inherent conflict between aggressively working to make Palo Alto the safest city in America and scrupulously avoiding profile stops based on race or ethnicity. The Department expects our officers to diligently attack crime, traffic and quality of life problems. It likewise expects officers to base their actions ~ upon observed violations and/or specific, articulable cause. As the IACP stated so eloquently above, acting in any other manner is illegal, indefensible and will not be tolerated. It is equally essential, however, for our officers to believe that when they have executed their duties in an ethical and professional manner, the Department will stand by them and defend them against unwarranted criticism or complaints. Stated simply, if we fail to defend good police work, pretty soon we won’t see any. POLICY The following four phase response to the "profiling" issue is hereby initiated: The Department will continue to strive to create an organizational culture, which reflects a strong commitment to highest standards of ethics and integrity. The Department will promulgate a new General Order specifically addressing "Respecting Constitutional. Rights." This order will be supported by positive leadership, training, supervision, and when necessary corrective action. 2.The Department will continue to include Diversity Training in the annual advanced officer course. In July the Department will start collecting ethnicity-based statistics on all arrests, citations, field interviews and field contacts where no report is currently generated. Examples of public contacts where no report is currently generated include traffic stops where a warning is given or pedestrians investigated for suspicious activity that turns out to be unfounded. Results will be submitted in quarterly reports to Council. The Department will initiate a proactive public information program designed to familiarize the public with: why police stop people, what a person should do if he or she is stopped, and what recourse a person has if he or she thinks they were stopped unfairly. The Department will disseminate this information in individual field contacts, in the media and in Utility Bills. The Department will also appear by request at public forums such as neighborhood or business association meetings.