For Immediate Release: August 2, 2019 10:15 am cst
Contact: Danielle Conrad, dconrad@aclunebraska.org or 402-476-8091 ext. 102
ACLU: Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Must Improve to Address Persistent Racial Profiling
Lincoln, NE- Today the ACLU of Nebraska published a first of its kind report, Equality Before the Stop, analyzing racial bias in traffic stops, providing an inventory of existing anti-racial profiling policies, evaluating current anti-bias trainings among Nebraska’s largest law enforcement agencies in our most diverse counties, and identifying solutions to strengthen Nebraska’s approach to combat racial profiling and racial bias in traffic stops. Annual reports from the Nebraska Crime Commission illustrate that Nebraskans of color are at least twice as likely to be stopped as white Nebraskans. This data coupled with reported experiences of far too many of our Nebraska neighbors fosters community division and mistrust, undermines our shared commitment to equality, hurts our shared public safety goals, and exacerbates persistent and unfair racial disparities throughout Nebraska’s broken criminal justice system. The ACLU investigation examined local police and sheriff's department policies and trainings from 23 local law enforcement agencies, including the Nebraska State Patrol, in Nebraska's 12 most populous and diverse counties utilizing open records requests. Findings include:
- 7 of 21 or about 33% of law enforcement agencies that responded to our requestdid not have a written anti-racial profiling policy as required under existing state law;
- 11 of 21 or about 52% of the law enforcement agencies that responded to our request had at least one employee participate in anti-bias training during the relevant survey period;
- Of those agencies, only about 6% of the employees from the 23 surveyed agencies had attended an anti-bias training during the relevant survey period.
- The Chadron Police Department reported 100% employee participation in anti-bias training and the Lincoln Police Department had almost 20% of its employees reporting attendance at an anti-bias training during the relevant survey period.
“The ACLU’s report shows that some Nebraska law enforcement agencies have made an earnest effort to address racial profiling, but not all have, and there is much work we can and should do to advance racial justice. The lack of robust anti-bias training is deeply concerning as racial disparities in traffic stops continue to increase in Nebraska. Officers should not be able to opt-out of anti-bias training just like Black, Latinx, Native American, and other drivers of color cannot opt-out of stops resulting from racial profiling,” said Rose Godinez, legal and policy counsel for ACLU of Nebraska.
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For over 50 years in Nebraska, the ACLU has worked in courts, legislatures, and communities to protect the constitutional and individual rights of all people. With a nationwide network of offices and millions of members and supporters, we take up the toughest civil liberties fights. Beyond one person, party, or side — we the people dare to create a more perfect union. Learn more at www.aclunebraska.org Full Report:https://www.aclunebraska.org/en/publications/equality-stop
