State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

CA: Police Commission, LAPD, community to tackle a longstanding, thorny issue: racial profiling

Los Angeles Times: Like law enforcement agencies across the country, the Los Angeles Police Department has long wrestled with an issue that has frustrated both residents and police officials: allegations of racial profiling.

Accusations of biased policing are difficult to prove, as they hinge on what an officer is thinking when he or she stops someone. But the perception of profiling has frayed relationships between police and communities nationwide, including Los Angeles.

The LAPD usually receives a few hundred complaints of biased policing each year, largely from African Americans. None have been upheld, a number that has become more glaring in recent years as residents and police commissioners continue to voice their concerns.

Read article