Maryland has become the first state to adopt rules against police profiling. Police will be banned from using race, religion, or sexual orientation as factors in making routine stops, and can’t stop everyone in a neighborhood when a crime is reported.
"Police do a dangerous, difficult job, and they do it well. But experience shows that improper profiling by police does terrible damage," said Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh while unveiling the new guidelines in a nine-page memorandum on Tuesday.
Under the rules, officers are banned from using race or ethnicity in making decisions during routine operations, investigations, and traffic stops. The guidelines also include a ban on profiling based on national origin, identity, disability, or religion