Racial Profiling – Kansas
"When those sworn to protect and serve the nation discriminate based on race, religion, or ethnicity, it reinforces the idea that human rights and constitutional protections only apply to certain groups of people."
–
Robert Schultz, AIUSA
How Kansas Rates in Protection From Racial Profiling
While Kansas's racial profiling laws seek to address the problem of police illegally stopping and searching pedestrians as well as motorists, the law's effectiveness is undermined by an anemic definition of the problem. By only banning profiling "solely" based on race, ethnicity, or national origin, it essentially allows police to utilize profiles that include other factors (such as gender or age) in addition to race, ethnicity, or national origin. Accordingly, while it may be illegal in Kansas to profile African-Americans, it is not illegal to profile African-American men. Additionally, without a designated civilian complaint body, there is no ongoing effort to evaluate and analyze substantive changes and remedies. The laws also do not give the public the right to go into court and ask a judge to order the police to stop racially profiling area residents and motorists.Protection from racial profiling: Insufficient
Members of Congress supporting the End Racial Profiling Act of 2004: None