Commercial Appeal - Cohen: Congress must end racial profiling

Racial profiling is an injustice and Congress must put an end to it, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen said Wednesday as a bill he is co-sponsoring was introduced in Congress.

“From the biased use of ‘stop and frisk’ policies to the impact of unfair mandatory minimum sentences on minority communities, there is widespread evidence that racial disparities pervade our criminal justice system,” the Memphis Democrat said.

The End Racial Profiling Act would ban racial profiling, mandate that federal law-enforcement agencies receive training on the practice and require the U.S. Justice Department to collect data on all routine and spontaneous investigations. It also would provide grants to help agencies develop and implement best policing practices to discourage profiling.

Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., is sponsoring the legislation in the House, with Cohen as one of the original sponsors. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., is offering the Senate version of the bill.

“Injustices like racial profiling cannot continue in a society that holds fairness and equality in high regard,” Cohen said.