59 LAW AGENCIES TRACKING STOPS FOR RACIAL PROFILING

But Varying Data-Compiling Methods Means The Information
Will Be Of Little Help In A Statewide Analysis

SACRAMENTO - Fifty-nine law-enforcement agencies have heeded Gov. Gray
Davis' call to voluntarily track the race of people pulled over for
traffic stops, using methods that range from state-of-the-art to a No.
2 pencil.

Of those agencies, 32 say they will turn their information over to the
California Highway Patrol for a report to the Legislature this summer.

But the data won't give an accurate answer about whether police are
using "racial profiling" - the practice of pulling over drivers who
are minorities at a disproportionate rate, said state Sen. Kevin Murray.

"The data's not going to be compatible," Murray said. "We don't know
what data they're collecting, what format or who they can compare the
data to. It's going to be very difficult to get a statewide picture."

In fact, the CHP won't analyze the information they'll get from other
agencies and will add it to the report as they receive it, said CHP
Commissioner D.O. "Spike" Helmick.

The CHP suggested a format for agencies that are going to collect
information about the race, age, gender and disposition of traffic
stops, but Helmick said each police department's collection could be a
little different.

While the police department watching over the state's technology
center - San Jose - uses laptop computers in each patrol car, Oakland
and other cities are using "ScanTron" forms that officers will
complete by filling in the forms' bubbles with pencil.

The Oakland Police Department started the tracking process Wednesday,
said George Phillips, public-information officer for the department.

Of the 59 agencies who will gather information on stops, 10 of them,
including San Jose, told the CHP that they do not plan to submit their
data.

"We're just doing it because we see it as a necessity for the
community," said Rubens Dalaison, public-information officer for the
San Jose Police Department.

Davis vetoed a bill in September that would have required
law-enforcement agencies to track the race of drivers pulled over for
traffic stops, saying gathering the information could come at a cost
of "tens of millions of dollars."

Davis ordered the CHP to track their numbers for three years, but
asked other agencies to voluntarily study their own rates.