SF 2173 & HF 2376: Discriminatory Policing What the Bill proposes: 1. Prohibits officers from engaging in discriminatory policing. 2. Creation of a Community Policing Advisory Board. 3. Requires officers to inform people of their right to file a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission if they believe they’ve been profiled. 4. Collect and analyze data. 5. Training law enforcement. Why the legislation is needed: • An ideal discriminatory policing bill should do the following things: 1) Define “profiling” in a comprehensive way that includes all impacted groups; 2) Require data collection that is based on officer perception of a person’s race, gender, age, and nationality; 3) Create an independent review board that can review and adjudicate individual complaints of racial profiling; and 4) Create a private right of action for individuals who believe they have been the victim of racial profiling. • Iowa is one of 20 states that doesn’t have a state law prohibiting discriminatory policing. The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing and U.S. Department of Justice provided recommendation that law enforcement agencies prohibit profiling based on race, gender, national origin, religion, and sexual orientation. • Transparency and accountability improve police-community relations. Creating a system where data on law enforcement stops is collected and reported regularly and establishing a solution-driven advisory board are ways to enhance police accountability and transparency. • Profiling is an ineffective public safety tool. Stopping people based on race or other identity characteristics, rather than on evidence of criminal activity, misdirects limited resources away from evidence-based policing. Preventing profiling facilitates efficient pursuit of people who pose a threat to public safety. • Studies show that African-Americans in Iowa are more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than whites and that African-Americans make up a disproportionate number of inmates in Iowa’s prisons. These inequities show an environment in which Iowa’s African Americans do not receive equal treatment in the criminal justice system. Ask for Legislators: “SF 2173 is an important step in promoting justice and creating accountability by defining profiling, requiring the collection of data, and creating an outside board to advise on the problem of discriminatory policing. Support the passage of legislation that comprehensively defining ‘profiling’, requires the collection of data based on officer perception, creates an independent review board, and creates a private right of action.” Bill Sponsors and Key Contacts: • Senate Bill Sponsor: Senator Janet Peterson - [email protected] - (515)442- 0120 - 4300 Beaver Hills Dr, Des Moines, IA 50310 o Contact your local Senator. Find out who your Senator is here: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find • House Bill Sponsors o Rep. Bruce Hunter (District 34) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 452 Wilmers Ave., Des Moines, IA 50315 o Rep. Art Staed (District 66) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 2141 Coldstream Ave. NE, Cedar Rapids, IA 52402 o Rep. Jo Oldson (District 41) - [email protected] - (515)255-2805 - 4004 Grand #302, Des Moines, IA 50312 o Rep. Liz Bennett (District 65) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 1834 1st Ave NE Apt. 206, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404 o Rep. Charles Isenhart (District 100) - [email protected] - (515)281- 3221 - P.O. Box 3353, Dubuque, IA 52004-3353 o Rep. Cindy Winckler (District 90) - [email protected] - (515)281- 3221 - 6 Thode Court, Davenport, IA 52802 o Rep. Helen Miller (District 9) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 1936 15th Avenue, Fort Dodge, IA 50501 o Rep. Timi Brown-Powers (District 61) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 1920 W 7th Street, Waterloo, IA 50702 o Rep. Phyllis Thede (District 93) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 2342 Hawthorne Court, Bettendorf, IA 52722 o Rep. Deborah Berry (District 62) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 208 Greenbrier Road, Waterloo, IA 50703 o Rep. Sharon Steckmen (District 53) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 1685 10th Street SW, Mason City, IA 50401 o Rep. Scott Ourth (District 26) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 110 Timber Lane, Ackworth, IA 50001 o Rep. Ako Abdul-Samad (District 35) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 1506 18th Street, Des Moines, IA 50314 o Rep Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (District 45) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 518 ASH, Ames, IA 50014 Rep. Vicki Lensing (District 85) - [email protected] - (515)281-3221 - 2408 Mayfield Road, Iowa City, IA 52245 .