Racial Profiling Campaign

The Virginia Organizing Project began working on racial profiling by law enforcement as a statewide issue in 2002. Racial profiling, often included in the term "biased policing", is the practice of stopping, detaining or searching people of color for no other apparent reason than the color of their skin.

Law enforcement officers often have reason to stop individuals based on race, as when people match eye-witness descriptions of criminals issued in crime reports. However, many people of color throughout Virginia report that they are stopped by law enforcement for no apparent reason, detained for long periods of time, and let go with no satisfactory explanation for the stop. VOP is working to encourage law enforcement agencies to keep records of ALL stops they make and provide documentation for the reasons for those stops. Please join us in the effort to increase the effectiveness of Virginia law enforcement agencies and improve their credibility and accountability concerning routine traffic stops.