Source: Sikhnet
http://www.sikhnet.com/s/ERPA2004
On March 5, 2004 Sikhnet reported, "On February 26th, the End Racial Profiling Act of 2004 (ERPA) was introduced in the US Congress. The legislation, launched with bipartisan support in the House (H.R. 3847) and the Senate (S. 2132), would curb profiling by law enforcement officials on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity or national origin...
The practice of racial profiling occurs when law enforcement relies on race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion in selecting which individuals to subject to routine or spontaneous investigatory activities in the absence of a specific suspect description. ERPA builds on the Department of Justice’s 2003 guidelines prohibiting racial profiling. At least two dozen states have adopted similar initiatives. ERPA would institute a general prohibition on profiling based on race, religion, ethnicity or national origin by federal, state or local law enforcement.
The legislation was introduced in the House by Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) and in the Senate by Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI). ERPA would define racial profiling, as well as institute data collection systems to identify and track racial profiling, which would help repair frayed relations between police and minority communities."