H-3553.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 2902

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By Representatives Veloria, Constantine, Ballasiotes, Santos, Van Luven, Tokuda, O'Brien, Kenney, Lovick, Kessler, Regala, Edmonds, Stensen, Ogden and Kagi

Read first time 01/24/2000.  Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

Reporting information on routine traffic enforcement.

    AN ACT Relating to reporting information on routine traffic enforcement; and adding a new section to chapter 46.63 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 46.63 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) Beginning July 1, 2001, every traffic enforcement agency in this state shall provide an annual report to the department, on forms provided by the department, including the following information:

    (a) The number of individuals stopped for routine traffic enforcement, whether or not a citation or warning was issued;

    (b) Identifying characteristics of the individual stopped, including the race or ethnicity, approximate age, and gender;

    (c) The alleged traffic infraction that led to the stop;

    (d) Whether a search was instituted as a result of the stop;

    (e) Whether the vehicle, personal effects, driver, or passenger or passengers were searched;

    (f) The legal basis for the search, including whether consent was obtained, whether canine alerted, and whether there was probable cause or reasonable suspicion to suspect a crime;

    (g) Whether any contraband was discovered in the course of the search;

    (h) What was the contraband and how many or how much of the contraband was found;

    (i) Whether any oral or written citation or warning was issued as a result of the stop;

    (j) Whether an arrest was made as a result of either the stop or the search; and

    (k) Whether any property was seized under forfeiture laws with a description of that property.

    (2) It is the duty of the department to compile the information required under subsection (1) of this section in a manner that is of value in guiding the policies of the legislature and of those in charge of the apprehension, prosecution, and treatment of criminals and delinquents, or concerned with the prevention of crime and delinquency.  The report shall include statistics which are comparable with national uniform criminal statistics published by federal bureaus or departments.

    (3) Data acquired under this section shall be used only for research or statistical purposes and shall not contain any information that may reveal the identity of any individual who is stopped or any law enforcement officer.

                            --- END ---