Rhode Island General Laws Title 31. Motor and Other Vehicles § 31-21.1-2. Declaration and policy

The general assembly declares that the use of racial profiling for stopping or searching motorists on our public highways is against public policy and violates the civil rights of the motorist. For purposes of this chapter, “ racial profiling” means the detention, interdiction or other disparate treatment of an individual on the basis, in whole or in part, of the racial or ethnic status of such individual, except when such status is used in combination with other identifying factors in seeking to apprehend a specific suspect whose racial or ethnic status is part of the description of the suspect. The purpose of this chapter is to conduct a study of the traffic stops by the police to determine whether racial profiling is occurring and to require that police prohibit the practice of racial profiling.