WASHINGTON –(ENEWSPF)–February 17, 2017. Yesterday, 127 national, state, and local civil rights groups sent a letter calling on senators to support S. 411, the End Racial and Religious Profiling Act of 2017 (ERRPA). ERRPA was introduced this week by Senator Ben Cardin, D. Md., and would put an end to discriminatory profiling by law enforcement officials and ensure that individuals are not impermissibly stopped, investigated, arrested or detained based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.
“Discriminatory profiling results in a loss of trust and confidence between local, state, and federal law enforcement and the communities they serve. Although most individuals are taught from an early age that the role of law enforcement is to fairly defend and guard communities from people who want to cause harm to others, this fundamental message is often contradicted when these same defenders are seen as unnecessarily and unjustifiably harassing innocent people. When law enforcement targets communities based on stereotypes, they undermine their ability to correctly identify serious criminal and terrorist threats. Investigations are flawed and hindered because people and communities impacted by these stereotypes are less likely to cooperate with law enforcement agencies they have grown to mistrust, making us all less safe. We can begin to reestablish trust in law enforcement if we act now,” the letter states in part.
“Discriminatory profiling is wrong, fosters distrust between law enforcement and the communities they serve, and puts public safety at risk,” said Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “Racial profiling infringes on civil liberties and squanders resources that should be used instead to catch criminal perpetrators. We urge the Senate to stand for effective law enforcement and support ERRPA.”
The full letter is linked here.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference, visit www.civilrights.org.
Source: http://civilrights.org
