Many SC agencies don’t file racial profiling data

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Less than half of South Carolina’s nearly 300 police agencies are fully complying with a law requiring them to report the race of drivers during traffic stops.

Documents obtained from the Public Safety Department by The Greenville News (http://grnol.co/xFUJkv ) also show 52 of those agencies have filed none of the monthly reports required under a 2007 law. The agencies include small-town police departments, smaller sheriff’s department and college police forces.

Democratic Rep. Todd Rutherford says fellow black lawmakers supported the law because the reports are vital to determine if drivers and being pulled over solely because of their race.

Bamberg County only made 27 of the required 51 reports. Sheriff Ed Darnell says his department goes months without making any traffic stops because it doesn’t have enough officers.

___

Information from: The Greenville News, http://www.greenvillenews.com