A state budget proposal requiring all law enforcement agencies to report racial data for traffic stops has officers of smaller departments wondering who’s going to pay for it.

“Given the fact that we are in this economic crisis in our county, and the fact that (racial profiling) hasn’t been an issue, I’m perplexed as to why this would be mandated and forced upon us,” said Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley.

The Joint Finance Committee broadened the reporting requirement to all state and local police agencies statewide last week, instead of just in the 11 most populated counties, including Dane and Rock, as Gov. Jim Doyle originally proposed.
Supporters say the requirement would help determine how prevalent racial profiling, or police targeting of minorities for suspicion, is in Wisconsin.

Statewide traffic citations already list racial data, though no data is currently collected for written or verbal warnings. The proposal would expand data collection to all traffic stops, regardless of whether a citation is issued.
The Madison Police Department already collects racial information on all traffic stops, police spokesman Joel DeSpain said. Oregon Police Chief Doug Pettit said 16 law enforcement agencies in Dane County, including the village of Oregon, collect racial data at traffic stops using a standardized database. Most departments also have a data analyst on staff, he said.

Police agencies in smaller, more rural areas would have the most difficulty accommodating the proposal because of limited funding and staff, Pedley and others said.

In Wisconsin, 86 percent of police agencies have 50 or fewer members, said Pettit, who is also the chairman of the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association’s legislative committee.

The legislation has several logistical hurdles, he said. For one, Wisconsin driver’s licenses don’t list ethnicity or race, so Pettit said officers are usually put in the uncomfortable position of asking a driver or making a broad determination. Another is how to extract meaning from the data, he said.

Pedley said he wonders if the legislation is entirely necessary outside of urban areas. He said there have been no complaints of racial profiling in Lafayette County, which has a growing Hispanic population, in the 20 years he has been sheriff.

Though he also hasn’t heard of any specific racial profiling cases, Spring Green Police Chief Kevin Wilkins said it’s an issue worth looking into, as long as the state can follow through with financial and technical support for its mandate.
“I think it’s perfectly justified to monitor whether there’s racial profiling occurring,” Wilkins said. “If it goes statewide, I guess I’m not opposed to it, but I would like to see what kind of reporting system they would like to provide.”

Most enforcement agencies in Wisconsin probably do not have a problem  with racial profiling, said Jeffrey Wiswell Sr., spokesman for the Wisconsin Sheriffs & Deputy Sheriffs Association. He said the legislation would put any doubts to rest, especially in urban areas where there have been more complaints.

“If you can get the cost and benefit aligned, there might be some good that comes out of it,” said Wiswell, adding that the association is neutral on the issue.

Wisconsin is one of 27 states that does not ban racial profiling of either motorists or pedestrians, according to Amnesty International. Most police agencies in Wisconsin have some sort of policy of their own to prevent profiling, Pettit said.
“Racial profiling does happen in Wisconsin,” said Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, one of two black lawmakers on the committee, both of whom supported the data collection. “I will tell you unequivocally that is the case.”

Wisconsin has struggled for years with a higher-than-average percentage of minorities in prison. A commission studying the issue reported last year that blacks make up only 6 percent of Wisconsin’s population, yet they comprise 43 percent of its prison population.

The Democrat-controlled Legislature must approve the requirement, and Doyle has to sign it, before it becomes law.
Under the plan, police would be required to collect traffic-stop data and submit it to the state’s Office of Justice Assistance. UW-Madison would analyze the results, Pettit said.

The provision complements another Doyle proposal already approved by the committee that allows police to stop people for not wearing seat belts. Those worried about racial profiling have expressed concerns police could use that as an excuse to pull over minorities.

— The Associated Press contributed to this story.