Rhode Island Affiliate, American Civil Liberties Union

The RI ACLU, along with more than two dozen other local organizations and leaders, is leading a campaign to bring attention to the critical problem of racial profiling in the state of Rhode Island.  For the past several years, we have been pushing for the passage of a Comprehensive Racial Profiling Bill, which passed out of committee in 2011, and will be reintroduced for the 2012 session.

The campaign was announced in May, 2009.  To coincide with the coalition’s efforts, the Rhode Island Senate passed a resolution declaring May 2009 “Racial Profiling Awareness Month.”

The coalition is documenting incidents of racial profiling in Rhode Island.  If you have experienced racial profiling, you can fill out this survey online at http://tinyurl.com/RPMay2009 or print out the surveys below and mail them to the RI ACLU.

RELATED DOCUMENTS

• Flyer for the Campaign Against Racial Profiling
  • This flyer includes all of the contact information for documenting any incidences of racial profiling.  Feel free to print off copies and distribute widely.
• Racial Profiling Surveys
  • These questionnaires may be used for intake purposes to collect information about racial profiling that occurs in the state.
  • Racial Profiling Questionnaire (English)
  • Cuestionario sobre el perfil étnico o racial (Spanish)
• Racial Profiling Fact Sheet
  • This document contains some of the salient facts about the problem of racial profiling within the state based on three years of traffic stop data collection.
• Summary of the 2011 Comprehensive Racial Profiling Bill
  • This one page document summarizes the major provisions of the bill.
• Comprehensive Racial Profiling Prevention Act: Know the Facts
  • This document provides the facts about the impact on police officers of this bill.
• “Racial Profiling: Police Chiefs Have Violated Trust” by Michael Évora and Martha Yager
  • An op-ed by Coalition members discussing the Rhode Island Police Chief’s Association’s actions regarding the bill during the 2011 legislative session.

ACLU Reports on Racial Profiling

• The Persistence of Racial Profiling in Rhode Island: A Call for Action (January 2007)
• The Persistence of Racial Profiling in Rhode Island: A Nine Month Review (November 2005)
• The Persistence of Racial Profiling in Rhode Island: An Update (August 2005)
• The Persistence of Racial Profiling in Rhode Island: An Analysis and Recommendations (May 2005)