ACLU of Illinois Legal Director Harvey Grossman responded to columnist Steve Chapman in today's Chicago Tribune:

Steve Chapman's recent column arguing that racial profiling is not a problem must surprise the many thousands of innocent people of color in Illinois who have been the victims of humiliating consent searches during routine traffic stops ("Racial profiling myth continues to live on," Commentary, May 6).

The study cited by Chapman finds that police disproportionately search motorists of color, as Chapman acknowledges. Nonetheless he asserts this is not evidence of bias-based policing.

The nationwide study conducted by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics reveals that once a police officer stops a motorist, the color of one's skin makes a significant difference. The study shows that during a routine traffic stop, only 3.6 percent of whites are searched, compared to a far higher 9.5 percent of African-Americans and 8.8 percent of Latinos.

More than half of the searches in the study were by motorist consent, meaning that the officer did not have legal cause to require a search but nevertheless requested that the motorist give permission for a car search. Not surprisingly, other data show that almost all drivers give such consent when requested by the police. These kinds of searches are believed by many to be particularly susceptible to bias, conscious or otherwise, because they are standardless and based only on the subjective judgment of the officer.

Indeed, in 2005, African-American drivers were 3.3 times more likely than white drivers to be consent-searched in Illinois.

Chapman opines that minority drivers are disproportionately searched by consent because police request consent only after discovering that the driver has a "rap sheet."

He offers no proof of this claim. The ACLU has prosecuted racial profiling lawsuits across the country, and no law-enforcement agency has ever suggested that it performs consent searches on this basis. Similarly, we are not aware of any police agency presenting data demonstrating that the clear and persistent discrepancy between the percentage of white motorists and African-American motorists asked for consent for a search can be explained by African-American drivers being more likely to have a rap sheet.

The best solution to what numerous studies have shown to be a persistent problem is to ban consent searches. They are inherently coercive, intrusive and publicly humiliating. At a minimum, consent searches should be allowed only when the officer identifies specific facts that give rise to a reasonable suspicion that the motorist is engaged in criminal activity -- that is an objective standard subject to supervisory review. It's also the rule in Champaign and in other jurisdictions across the country.

In 2003, the Illinois General Assembly failed to move legislation that placed this restraint on consent searches. It is time for the governor and the General Assembly to address the continuing racial disparity in consent searches and to find a solution.

Harvey Grossman, Legal director, American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, Chicago.

Online: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0705210624may22,1,6967464.story