Date: 09/17/2015
Final
Community Feedback on Racial Profiling Data Collection
PROFILING INTERIM COMMITTEE
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09:34 AM -- Community Feedback on Racial Profiling Data Collection
Commander Clif Northam and Lieutenant Rick McMorran, representing the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, testified regarding information the office had received regarding initiatives that might require collecting data on the race and ethnicity of those contacted by law enforcement. Lt. McMorran provided citizen feedback he solicited about potential initiatives, including citizen concerns about feeling like a statistic to law enforcement and that law enforcement asking citizens about race or ethnicity may prompt concerns that racially-biased policing exists. In response to a question, Lt. McMorran provided information about collecting data related to determining whether racially-biased policing occurs. He informed the committee that he has access to conversations between officers, and that he can search those conversations for terms, such as racial slurs, that he may use to identify racially-biased policing. He also discussed how law enforcement interacts with community groups to communicate with citizens.
At the committee's request, Janet Huffor, Chief of Staff for the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, provided information regarding complaints over racially-biased policing. Cdr. Northam provided information on race and ethnicity data collection. He also discussed police academy training regarding race-neutral policing and continuing in-service training.
09:45 AM
Cdr. Northam discussed a specific incident regarding biased policing, and stated that the sheriff's office does not require a complaint prior to investigating potential incidents of biased policing. He discussed his general concerns over suggested approaches to data collection. In response to the committee, he explained how the office uses collected data. He also offered suggestions about how to improve a self-reporting based system for citizens to report issues with law enforcement. Lt. McMorran discussed data available to the public and information provided in annual reports related to use of force complaints.