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Letter to Senator Charles E. Grassley, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee - On Police Reform Ending Racial Profiling

Letter

Date: July 14, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Criminal Justice

Dear Chairman Grassley:

The violent events of the past few weeks have underscored the extreme urgency for Congress to act quickly to help restore the trust between the police and the communities they serve. I therefore write to ask you take swift committee action on two important police reform measures immediately when the Senate reconvenes in September.

First, the End Racial Profiling Act (S. 1056) would prohibit all levels of law enforcement agencies -- federal, state, and local -- from engaging in racial or discriminatory profiling. The bill mandates training on discriminatory profiling, differentiates between discriminatory profiling and specific information used to identify specific suspects, and authorizes grants for the development and implementation of best policing practices to discourage profiling and increase data collection. Attorney General Lynch recently announced that each of the Justice Department's 28,000+ federal law enforcement agents and prosecutors will receive training to recognize and counter implicit bias. The End Racial Profiling Act would help ensure such important training is carried out at the state and local levels as well.

Second, the Law Enforcement Trust and Integrity Act (S. 2168) takes a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue of police accountability and building trust between police departments and their communities. This legislation provides incentives for local police organizations to voluntarily adopt performance-based standards through accreditation to ensure that incidents of misconduct will be reduced through appropriate management, training and oversight protocols. This measure provides police officers -- the vast majority of whom perform their jobs professionally and put their lives on the line daily -- with the tools necessary to improve community relations and enhance their professional growth and education.

Thank you for your consideration of my request.


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