Geoffrey Alpert, whose studies on police force and police chases have earned him a national reputation, is coordinating a study of the Miami Dade Police Department to determine if officers are making stops based solely on a person's race. The results of the three-year study will be turned over to the Dade County Commission, Alpert said.

"The issue of racial profiling has become a nationally recognized problem--one that has captured the attention of officials at the highest levels, including President George W. Bush," Alpert said. Stopping people based solely on race is a divisive and potentially explosive issue. Learning how to do good police work without resorting to racial profiling is essential for effective law enforcement."

Alpert's study will consist of three phases. First, he is analyzing agency data submitted by every officer who makes a stop. That includes the characteristics of the officer making the stop, the circumstances under which someone is stopped, where the stop was made, the individual's race, whether a search was requested and conducted, and what, if anything, was found.

Alpert and his team then will organize community meetings to elicit input from residents on racial profiling and whether it is a problem. The third phase of their research will rely on geographic information systems for critical information, such as the racial make-up and the crime rate of the neighborhood where the stop was made.

In addition, the research team will collect baseline information on drivers who violate the law. This part of the study is critical because it allows a comparison of who gets stopped to a group that has been observed violating the law. This part of the study also will set it apart from other studies in urban areas. Alpert said the results of the study and subsequent changes in procedures could make Miami Dade a national model for communities around the country.

"Granted, the study involves a lot of paperwork and reporting on the part of the 3,000 officers in the Miami Dade department," Alpert said. "But if this study indicates that changes in procedure are necessary and if those changes are implemented, the entire community, and the nation, will benefit."

Alpert is working with researchers from the Universities of Florida, Miami, Nebraska-Omaha, and Northeastern, Xavier, and Virginia Commonwealth universities. The study will be completed in 2003.