The American Civil Liberties Union would like to make sure you know your rights the next time you get pulled over.

The Southern Illinois Chapter of the ACLU partnered with the SIU School of Law, the SIU Crime Studies department and the Equal Justice Works Thursday to hold a seminar highlighting safety and proper procedures for citizens involved in traffic stops.

The seminar consisted of a video, titled "Busted: The Citizen's Guide to Surviving Police Encounters," and a panel of five speakers, including law professors, an attorney with the NAACP and SIU Police Chief Todd Sigler.

The event was sparked after an open-dialogue group approached the City Council during a Sept. 4 meeting about a gap in communication between the police and the SIUC student body.

William Schroeder, a law professor at SIU and guest speaker, was first to speak after the video was shown. The video depicted a police officer intimidating a group of young people during a traffic stop, and presented two different scenarios for their reactions.

"The police are trying to get you to incriminate yourself," said Schroeder, who admits to being pulled over himself in his youth.

"They can take you to jail for any offense, no matter how small," Schroeder said.

Schroeder stressed the importance of staying calm during traffic stops and obeying the officer, but also knowing your rights.

"They really can't search your car if you say no respectfully; they'll probably let you go." Schroeder said.

Sigler spoke at the event and expressed his displeasure at how the police were depicted in the film. In the movie, a police officer is shown intimidating and coercing a group of motorists on the way to a concert.

"The film, taken from the standpoint of saying 'no' was kind of overdone," Sigler said. "I really take exception to the way the officer was portrayed."

Sigler spoke to the group of about 30 people and offered the perspective of the police officers. Sigler said police do not want to search vehicles unless there is probable cause, such as the smell of marijuana smoke or alcohol.

"We like to have traffic stops done within 20 minutes," Sigler said. "All you have to do is say 'no' and you can be off with your speeding or traffic ticket."

Throughout the seminar, the various speakers gave information regarding the statistics of traffic stops. Sigler said there was no correlation between the race and the chances of being pulled over, although the chances of further police action increase with race and age.

One reason for this is because different groups have a bigger distrust of police to begin with. These groups include males, younger people, and people of ethnic minorities, Sigler said.

Several black students were present at the seminar and were hoping to get a chance to have a discussion with members of the Carbondale Police Department. The CPD were never a part of the program, despite previous reports.

Though disappointed by the lack of open dialogue and the perceived triteness of the event, John Boddie, an SIUC student and Coordinator for the Black Affairs Council, said he hoped it would be the beginning of several chances for the student community to speak directly to the law enforcement.

Boddie said he hopes to get more out of the next such meeting happening in the Lesar Law building Thursday.

"I think it's a nice try to reach out to the students. I think it's a nice start. But I did expect a little more," Boddie said. "They tried, and that's all they can do."

Online: http://media.www.siude.com/media/storage/paper1096/news/2007/10/19/City/Aclu-And.Siu.Hold.Seminar-3043174.shtml.