The purpose of this policy is to emphasize this agency’s
commitment to unbiased, equitable treatment of all persons in enforcing state
law and providing law enforcement services.
1. It is the policy of the Pittsburg State University Police
Department to treat all persons having contact with this agency in a fair,
equitable, and objective manner, in accordance with law, and without consideration
of their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, religious dress or other
individual characteristics.
2. All commissioned employees of the Pittsburg State University
Police Department shall be prohibited from engaging in “Racial Profiling,”
as that term is defined at paragraph 3 herein.
3. Definitions:
A. “Racial Profiling” means the practice of a law enforcement
officer or agency relying, as the sole factor, on race, ethnicity, national
origin, gender or religious dress in selecting which individuals to subject
to routine investigatory activities, or in deciding upon the scope and substance
of law enforcement activity following the initial routine investigatory activity.
Racial profiling does not include reliance on such criteria in combination
with other identifying factors when the law enforcement officer or agency
is seeking to apprehend a specific suspect whose race, ethnicity, national
origin, gender or religious dress is part of the description of the suspect.
B. “Routine Investigatory Activities: includes, but is not limited to,
the following activities conducted by law enforcement officers and agencies
in conjunction with traffic stops: (1) Frisks and other types of body searches,
and (2) consensual or nonconsensual searches of persons or possessions, including
vehicles, dormitory rooms, school lockers homes and apartments.
C. “Law Enforcement Officer” has the meaning ascribed thereto
in K.S.A. 74-5602 and amendments thereto.
D. “Law Enforcement Agency” means the governmental unit employing
the law enforcement officer.
E. “Governmental Unit” means the state or any county, city or
other political subdivision thereof, or any department, division, board or
other agency of any of the foregoing.
4. All commissioned employees of the Pittsburg State University
Police Department shall be required to attend annual education training which
shall include, but not be limited to, an understanding of the historical and
cultural systems that perpetuate racial profiling, assistance in identifying
racial profiling practices and providing officers with self-evaluation strategies
to preempt racial profiling prior to stopping a citizen.
5. If, upon completion of an appropriate investigation by the
agency, it is determined that a commissioned employee of the Pittsburg State
University Police Department violated the Policy Prohibiting Racial Profiling
and Commitment to Unbiased Law Enforcement Conduct the Pittsburg State University
Police Department shall initiate appropriate disciplinary action consistent
with applicable laws, rules and regulations, resolutions, ordinances or policies
with penalties, including demerits, suspensions or termination of the employment
of the commissioned employee from the Pittsburg State University Police Department.
6. The Pittsburg State University Police Department shall engage
in ongoing efforts to notify the public of the existence of this policy and
shall endeavor to make the public aware of each individual’s right to
file a complaint with the Pittsburg State University Police Department or
the Kansas Human Right’s Commission regarding incidents of alleged Racial
Profiling.
7. The Pittsburg State University Police Department shall engage
in ongoing efforts to notify the public of the process for making a complaint
to the Pittsburg State University Police Department on incidents of Racial
Profiling alleged to have been committed by commissioned employees of the
Pittsburg State University Police Department as a whole.
Such complaints may be made by delivering a written statement, signed by the
complaining party or parties to the Director of the Pittsburg State University
Police Department.
