The California Legislature in 2000 amended penal code section 13519.4 by defining racial profiling as the practice of detaining a suspect based solely on race and ethnicity without any individualized criminal suspicion of the person being stopped. This telecourse program examines the definition of racial profiling from both community and law enforcement perspectives, legal issues, overview of civil rights milestones, and shows the impact of racial profiling as examined through community and ethical considerations.

The program features officers' narratives of real-life experiences and includes interviews with private citizens as well as subject matter experts. Resources for the program include various community organizations, the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles, and officers’ own stories-- all designed to build a refresher presentation that educates officers on the right way to do their job legally, ethically and professionally.

This program serves as a racial profiling refresher training course as outlined in Commission Regulation 1081(a)(33) and required by Penal Code Sections 13519.4 (f) and (i), which states that once initial racial profiling training is completed, each officer shall undergo a refresher course every five years.

The program reviews and summarizes the core information from the initial five-hour training and updates changes in laws and practices as part of a comprehensive two-hour refresher. The DVD program offers two viewing options:

1. Play Telecourse in its entirety (110 min.)

2. Select among eight Telecourse segments:

• Introduction (9 min.)
• Expert Perspective (8 min.)
• Perspectives of Local Constituency Groups: City of Compton (24 min.)
• Negative Impact of Racial Profiling (9 min.)
• Historical Perspective (19 min.)
• The Whren Decision (19 min.)
• The Ethics of Racial Profiling (9 min.)
• Final Thoughts (11 min.)