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2001 SESSION
014304912Patrons-- Robinson, Abbitt and McEachin; Senators: Lambert and Miller, Y.B.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That §§ 15.2-1704 and 52-4 of the Code of Virginia are amended and reenacted, and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding sections numbered 8.01-226.2:1 and 52-4.01 as follows:
§ 8.01-226.2:1. Civil immunity for police officers participating in the Virginia Racial Profiling and Report Statistics Act.
Any police officer of a local police force or of the Department of State Police who participates in the collection and correlation of traffic data and information required in § 52-4.01 shall not be liable for any civil damages for acts or omissions on his part resulting from the stopping of alleged traffic offenders in the absence of gross negligence or willful misconduct.
§ 15.2-1704. Powers and duties of police force.
A. The police force of a locality is hereby invested with all the power and
authority which that formerly belonged to the office of constable at common law
and is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of criminals, the
safeguard of life and property, the preservation of peace and the enforcement
of state and local laws, regulations, and ordinances.
B. A police officer has no authority in civil matters, except (i) to execute and serve temporary detention and emergency custody orders and any other powers granted to law-enforcement officers in § 37.1-67.01 or § 37.1-67.1, (ii) to serve an order of protection pursuant to §§ 16.1-253.1, 16.1-253.4 and 16.1-279.1, or (iii) to execute all warrants or summons as may be placed in his hands by any magistrate for the locality and to make due return thereof. A town police officer, after receiving training under subdivision 8 of § 9-170, may, with the concurrence of the local sheriff, also serve civil papers, and make return thereof, only when the town is the plaintiff and the defendant can be found within the corporate limits of the town.
C. The police force of a locality shall collect and correlate data regarding traffic stops, including the age, race, ethnicity, and gender of the alleged offender, and report such information on such forms and dates as the Superintendent of State Police shall require, as provided in § 52-4.01.
§ 52-4. Functions of Department.
The highway patrol, or state police patrol as it is sometimes called, the
police school, the state police radio or communication system, the supervision
of inspection stations and of inspectors of motor vehicles, the promotion of
highway safety, the establishment and direction of a vehicle accident
prevention and safety program for state agencies, the adoption of standards for
motor vehicle appliances, accessories and safety devices and, the registration
of machine guns, and the collection and correlation of data concerning traffic
stops shall be in the Department of State Police. The collection and
correlation of such information shall include the age, race, ethnicity, and gender of the
alleged traffic offenders.
§ 52-4.01. Virginia Racial Profiling and Traffic Stops Reporting System established; duties of the Superintendent; reporting of local law enforcement agencies required.
A. With such funds as may be appropriated for this purpose, the Department of State Police shall establish the Virginia Racial Profiling and Traffic Stops Reporting System to collect and correlate data concerning the age, race, ethnicity, and gender of alleged offenders during traffic stops, including whether such persons were stopped, detained, or arrested as a result of the traffic stop, and whether a citation or warning was issued, for the purpose of determining whether a disproportionate number of minority persons are subjected to racial profiling and pretextual traffic stops. The Department shall analyze the data to determine whether a disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minority persons are stopped by Virginia state and local law-enforcement officers for alleged traffic violations on streets, roads, and highways in Virginia.
B. Each police officer of a locality and of the Department, during the course of his official duties, shall record (i) the age, race, ethnicity, and gender of each alleged traffic offender stopped and the specific reason for the traffic stop; (ii) whether such stop resulted in a search of the alleged offender, his passengers, the vehicle, and any other property belonging to the alleged offender and his passengers; (iii) whether the alleged offender or his passengers were detained, questioned, charged with an offense and released, or arrested, and whether a citation or warning was issued; and (iv) the specific violation of law for which the arrest was made. The chief of police of the police force in each locality shall report the collected and correlated traffic data and information for the locality to the Superintendent of State Police. Police officers of the Department shall submit the traffic reports required in this section to their commanding officer who shall forward such reports to the Superintendent. The Superintendent shall require the police in the Department and of the police force in each locality to report the traffic data and information required in subsection A on such forms and dates as he shall determine.
C. The Superintendent shall cause the development of a mechanism for collecting, correlating, analyzing, synthesizing, and validating any data and information generated from the reports required in subsection A, and shall retain the data and information for two years. The Superintendent shall report his findings and recommendations resulting from the analysis of the traffic data and information annually to the Governor and the General Assembly, beginning on July 1, 2002.
D. The Superintendent may seek assistance to design the data collection system and to collect, correlate, analyze, interpret, and report the results of the data, from any accredited public or private institution of higher education in the Commonwealth or from an independent body having the experience, staff expertise, and technical support capacity to conduct such research.
In designing the data collection system, the Superintendent shall ensure that the system designed to collect and correlate the traffic data and information is technologically equipped to manage and appropriate for data analysis to: (i) determine whether racial profiling or other characteristics are used by law-enforcement agencies in the Commonwealth to identify alleged offenders for traffic stops; (ii) develop a demographic profile of alleged traffic offenders who are stopped; (iii) ascertain whether traffic stops in the Commonwealth, particularly along Interstate Route 95, involve primarily African-American and other minority persons, and whether such persons were stopped, searched, detained, had property seized, or arrested relative to how Caucasian persons compare in similar circumstances; (iv) identify the reasons given by police officers for such stops and whether such persons were charged with an offense and arrested, or whether a citation or warning was issued; (v) determine whether African-American and other minority persons are advised of their constitutional rights under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to be free from unreasonable search and seizure; (vi) assess the extent to which officers are knowledgeable of the constitutional rights of citizens; (vii) solicit the public's perspectives regarding issues associated with racial profiling and pretextual traffic stops; (viii) determine whether the African-American and other minority communities are aware of their constitutional rights regarding search and seizure and equal protection under the law; and (ix) report accurate interpretations and conclusions from the data to the House Committees on Transportation and for Courts of Justice, the Senate Committees on Transportation and for Courts of Justice, and the Governor and the 2002 Session of the General Assembly.
2. That the provisions of this act shall expire on July 1, 2005.