Bias Based Policing Policy Statement

It is the policy of the Apopka Police Department to prohibit bias based profiling in all police-initiated actions.

These include all:

• Arrests
• Asset seizures
• Field contacts
• Forfeiture efforts
• Investigative detentions
• Searches
• Traffic contacts

Reasonable Suspicion or Probable Cause

Members’ actions will be based on a standard of reasonable suspicion or probable cause as required by the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and statutory authority. Members must be able to articulate specific facts, circumstances and conclusions, which support reasonable suspicion for an investigative detention or traffic stop, or probable cause for arrest.

Factors Members Shall Not Consider

In establishing either reasonable suspicion, probable cause, or as a basis for requesting consent to search, members shall not consider:

• Age
• Ethnicity
• Gender identity
• National origin
• Race
• Religion
• Sexual orientation

Criminal Profiling

Criminal profiling is a legitimate tool in the fight against crime. It is an investigative method in which a member, through observation of activities and environment, identifies suspicious behavior by individuals and develops a legal basis, consistent with the Fourth Amendment, to detain and question.

Illegal Profiling

Illegal profiling refers to a decision by a member to stop, detain, interdict, or search an individual based on:

• Age
• Color
• Ethnicity
• Gender
• National origin
• Race
• Religion
• Sexual orientation