I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
Gov. Bill Richardson signed a bill yesterday that prohibits “bias-based” profiling.
The legislation was sponsored by state Rep. Nate Cote, D-Las Cruces, HB 428. It describes profiling as the “practice of relying” on such factors as ethnicity, race, language, disability, sexual orientation or religion in “selecting a person to subject to routine or spontaneous investigatory activities.” It also forbids the use of such factors in determining the scope of an investigation.
“Part of what makes New Mexico so great is our rich diversity and this bill honors that heritage and reflects our ideals,” Gov. Richardson said in a statement. “Profiling perpetuates negative stereotypes that are harmful to our families and communities and undermines law enforcement by eroding confidence in our criminal justice system.”
A fact sheet about the bill on the Web site of Somos Un Pueblo Unido, a Santa Fe-based immigrant rights group, says the term “bias-based policing” is preferable to “racial profiling” in crafting legislation.
The term bias-based profiling is preferred over “racial profiling” to provide a more inclusive definition of individuals who could experience a bias when interacting with law enforcement.
Bias-based profiling usually refers to a police-initiated traffic stop. Bias-based policing may occur in other contexts as well, however, such as customs searches, police-initiated pedestrian stops, DEA activities, and national parks enforcement. More generally, bias-based profiling can be thought of as the inappropriate use of public authority when interacting with minorities.
The bill directs law enforcement agencies to develop policies, procedures and training protocols to prevent profiling from occurring.
Interestingly, Richardson signed the bill on the very day that the Pew Hispanic Center released a report showing that Latinos have less confidence than whites that they will be treated fairly by police and the courts. And, the study found, more than half (56 percent) of Latinos say they or someone in their immediate family member has come into contact with the criminal justice system in the past five years.
