Racial Profiling Policy

The Hewitt Police Department has established the Policy 2.2 concerning the prohibition of racial profiling and discriminatory practices in general. Discrimination in any form, including racial profiling, is strictly prohibited and the department will take immediate and appropriate action to investigate allegation of discrimination. This policy applies to all members of the Hewitt Police Department both classified and non-classified.

What is Racial Profiling?
Racial profiling is any law enforcement-initiated action based on an individual’s race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the individual’s behavior or information identifying the individual as having engaged in criminal activity.

Examples of racial profiling include but are not limited to the following:

• Initiating a traffic stop on a particular vehicle because of the race, ethnicity, or national origin of the driver of a vehicle
• Stopping or detaining the driver of a vehicle based on the determination that a person of that race, ethnicity, or national origin is unlikely to own or possess that specific make or model of vehicle
• Stopping or detaining an individual based on the determination that a person of that race, ethnicity, or national origin does not belong in a specific part of town or a specific place