Widespread racial profiling by law enforcement officers “continues unabated” in Rhode Island and remains pervasive throughout the United States, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Rights Working Group — a national coalition of civil liberties, national security, immigrants rights and human rights organizations that formed in the aftermath of 9/11.

Government policies have led to the “disproportionate stopping and searching of racial minorities,” according to the 88-page report, which was submitted to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The report states that though former President George W. Bush declared that racial profiling “is wrong, and we will end it in America,” Bush administration policies “actually exacerbated racial and ethnic profiling, particularly in the wake of 9/11.”

The Rhode Island Affiliate of the ACLU is one of 22 affiliates that contributed to the report. It cites earlier independent analyses of three years’ worth of traffic stops data from all police departments in Rhode Island, which found a pattern “of racial and/or ethnic differences” among motor vehicle stops and searches. A recent follow-up study of Rhode Island state police data found no change, according to the report.

The affiliate also cites problems stemming from Governor Carcieri’s executive order in 2008 that includes encouraging local police departments to enforce certain aspects of immigration law. Community groups say the order “has only exacerbated the problem of racial profiling in the state,” according to the affiliate.

It notes that members of a governor’s panel charged with monitoring unintended consequences of that order “have said that misunderstandings about the order among immigrant communities and misinterpretations of the order by police have created widespread fear among immigrants in the state.”

Steven Brown, the executive director of the ACLU’s Rhode Island affiliate, said the report “is valuable in documenting the widespread nature of racial profiling throughout the country.” And while Rhode Island is not unique, “the report should serve as a clarion call to public officials in our state about the importance of taking decisive action on this critical issue.”

Brown said, “Passage of comprehensive legislation to address the problem is essential if we are serious about protecting racial and ethnic minorities in Rhode Island from discrimination.” (House and Senate racial profiling bills died during this year’s legislative session.)

In February, the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association announced a plan to prevent biased policing that includes more sophisticated training and management policies and a review of psychological screening of officer candidates, and a public education campaign. But the association continued to deny that the police engage in racial profiling in traffic stops.

Pawtucket Police Chief George L. Kelley III, the association president, blamed “flawed news reporting” for exaggerating what he called a perceived problem of racial profiling.

In May, a coalition of advocacy groups, including the Rhode Island ACLU, initiated a month-long campaign to collect anecdotes of racial profiling incidents involving the police.

The full ACLU/Rights Working Group report is available online at www.aclu.org/intlhumanrights/racialjustice/40055pub20090629.html.

kziner@projo.com