WDVM.com – The Community Policing Act went into effect Wednesday in Virginia. The law requires local law enforcement agencies to collect and report a list of information during a traffic stop. The required data includes the race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the motorist, the reason for and the location of the stop, and whether the vehicle or person was searched. That information will be reported to the state.
Sergeant Jonathan Perok, spokesperson for the Prince William County Police Department, says the police department was already reporting this data if the stops resulted in an arrest or court summons; however, the data was never formally reported out. Now, if officers don’t make a citation and only issue a warning, officers will also have to issue that warning on paper and record the required data.
“They’re basically there to hold jurisdictions accountable for who they’re stopping and for what purpose and things like that,” Perok said. Sergeant Perok says it’s hard to determine whether the motorist was stopped on the basis of race.
Perok says Prince William County is a majority minority community. “I just hope, in the future, data is looked at broadly instead of just the numbers because it’s very important, especially in policing, to go beyond the number. To look at the actual context of situations and things like that.”
Although the police department was already collecting demographic information, it’s not available for public viewing. Perok says the only information available to the public is what is included in the department’s Daily Incident Reports, which don’t include every arrest – only those that are “significant” and of “media interest.”
“The fact that a police officer or police department says, ‘Yes we keep all of this but you can’t get it,’ I think says it all,” Haywood said. “We need to be able to get it. Like, why should that be a secret? Why should whether a police officer is producing stark racial disparities – why should that be a secret?”
In a press release, the police department said it “remains committed to ensuring all community members are treated fairly and impartially.”
“I mean, it’s good to make that public statement,” Haywood said. “You know, ‘We formally disapprove of this. Put this in your policies and procedures. Be aware. We’re on the lookout,’ That helps, sure. But in terms of giving ordinary people who are affected by racist policing, in terms of giving them a remedy, it doesn’t make the situation any better for them.”
The full list of data includes:
- The race, ethnicity, age, and gender of the person stopped
- The reason for the stop
- The location of the stop
- Whether a warning, written citation, or summons was issued and whether any persons were arrested
- If a warning, written citation, or summons was issued or an arrest was made, the warning provided, violation charged, or crime charged
- Whether the vehicle or any person was searched
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I have more than a few problems with this. First off I do not want our police slowed down by paperwork any more than they already are. Jut what they need. More paperwork. If this is necessary, then our government should be doing this in a manner that allows for the collection of this data by a very efficient means. This data should be collected at the DMV and then each and every patrol car should be able to simply scan a drivers license and the data instantly becomes part of the stop. If the driver checked the box at the DMV that they chose not to disclose this information, let that also be noted for the time of the motor vehicle stop.
I am also concerned that officers will be concerned that they have to pull over other ethnicities for absolutely no reason at all. In other words, when an officer becomes aware that his or her traffic stops become out of balance for any current socially accepted standard, then in order to protect themselves they then start pulling over other folks for no reason just to balance out, and fudge, their sheets. It’s called discrimination, or affirmative action, depending on which side of the fence you sit.
If you ae a white male who learned first hand what dealing with affirmative action was/is like as I have, you get quite sick and tired of it all. When I was 20 I got a 98 on my civil service exam and was told I’d never be hired because of affirmative action and how others got extra and free points because of the categories they fit into. UPS and several other very large corporations ALSO told me the exact same thing. Literally right to my face. Go away white male we cannot and will never give you a job due to the government mandated policy of affirmative action.
You may not want to hear that truth, and I certainly didn’t either, but it is what it is.
I’m sure some will read this and not believe that is what happened to me, and that’s fine. Stick your head in the sand. My point is that the overreaction to situations by anyone harms more than it helps. Go after the bad apples. Not the whole crop. This BLM group is run by Marxists and causing more harm than good. MLK would never support them or be a member.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/jul/5/virginia-orders-american-flag-removed-construction/
Ya’ll better get control of your state before Liberals turn it into something it was never intended to be.
Too late, I’m afraid.
BTW, have you seen the size of some of the lakes in the Texas Hill country? I swear they are about as wide as the Chesapeake from Cape Charles to the Northern Neck.
Catfish anyone?