Associated Press
March 12, 2001, Monday, City Edition
Copyright 2001 Dayton Newspapers, Inc.
Dayton Daily News
March 12, 2001, Monday, City Edition
(WASHINGTON) -- Blacks and Hispanics were twice as likely as whites to report the use of force in encounters with police, said a report that also showed black drivers were more likely than whites to be stopped, searched, handcuffed or ticketed than whites.
Two percent of blacks and Hispanics who had face-to-face encounters with police in 1999 reported force or threatened force, compared to just under one percent among whites, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics reported Sunday.
The report comes as Attorney General John Ashcroft has asked Congress to authorize a national study of racial profiling - the practice by law enforcement officials of singling out people based on their race. Ashcroft said he wants to get a measure of how prevalent the practice is at local traffic stops.
''I think this is an issue of such importance and magnitude that we should . . . make sure we do what’s necessary to correct any abuse,’' Ashcroft said. ''It’s wrong.’'