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U.S. Announces New Limits On Racial Profiling

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The U.S. Department of Justice announced new guidelines today to limit the use of profiling by federal law enforcement agencies. The ban, while it will not apply to every agency and situation, would prohibit profiling on the basis of religion, national origin and other characteristics such as race.

The new protocols will not extend to local law enforcement, but U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says he hopes they could be a model for the future.

The policy, which replaces decade-old guidelines established under the Bush administration, also will require federal agencies to provide training and to collect data on complaints.

Civil rights advocates are welcoming the protections, but remain unhappy with some exemptions that would continue to allow federal agents to consider race and ethnicity when stopping people at airports and border crossings.

Here & Now's Robin Young spoke with NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson on what the guidelines mean and how officials expect them to play out.

Guest

  • Carrie Johnson, justice correspondent for NPR. She tweets @johnson_carrie.

This segment aired on December 8, 2014.

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