The Lockhart Police Department strictly prohibits its officers from engaging in racial profiling, which is when law enforcement takes action based on an individual's race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the individual's behavior or on information identifying the individual as having engaged in criminal activity.
Racial profiling pertains to persons who are contacted and viewed as suspects or potential suspects of criminal behavior. The prohibition against racial profiling does not preclude the use of race, ethnicity or national origin as factors in a detention decision. Race, ethnicity or national origin may be legitimate factors in a detention decision when used as part of an actual description of a specific suspect for whom an officer is searching. Detaining an individual and conducting an inquiry into that person's activities only because of that individual's race, ethnicity or national origin is racial profiling.
The Lockhart Police Department will accept complaints from any person who believes he or she has been stopped or searched based on racial, ethnic or national origin profiling. No person shall be coerced or discouraged from filing a complaint, nor discriminated against because he or she filed such a complaint.
The Lockhart Police Department's racial profiling reports are available for review, below: