BAD NEWS ON RACIAL PROFILING: HIGHER RATIO OF MINORITIES STILL GETS STOPPED

A NEW STUDY that looks at the number of minority drivers stopped by state
troopers on the New Jersey Turnpike has turned up some troubling results.

Despite all the hand-wringing over racial profiling and pledges to end the
practice, an analysis by The Record of state law enforcement statistics
suggests that minorities are being pulled over on the southern part of the
turnpike in even higher proportions than when the profiling scandal erupted.

The report also shows that over a six-month period from last May to
October, the number of minorities stopped on the entire length of the
turnpike increased slightly, from 38 percent to 40 percent.

Attorney General John Farmer Jr. says the study is inconclusive, but
concedes it doesn't "dispel the concerns of the past."

The report is part of the state's consent decree with the U.S. Department
of Justice, in which the state agreed to make reforms that would end the
practice of racial profiling. These reforms include improved training and
the issuance of reports on traffic stops, summonses, and arrests by state
troopers.

News that minority drivers are still being stopped by state police at high
rates is especially disturbing since the statistics were compiled while
troopers knew they were being monitored. The numbers appear to prove, as
one critic said, that profiling is "deeply ingrained in the culture of the
state police."Even the appointment of the first black state police
superintendent has failed to end the practice.

The monitor's report also found that the state police had overall made
significant strides in meeting the terms of the decree, including
implementing ethics training for superior officers and installing video
cameras in squad cars. That's a good sign.

But the report criticized the state police for lagging in implementing a
computerized tracking system to monitor traffic stops and help officials
determine if racial profiling is taking place.

Moving quickly to put the new system in place is one way the state can
prove its commitment to end racial profiling.