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PROFILING Anti-profiling policy required by state law already in place in Medford Comment By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 15, 2015 at 5:40 PM Updated Aug 16, 2015 at 5:23 PM By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 15, 2015 at 5:40 PM Updated Aug 16, 2015 at 5:23 PM » Social News Medford police say a recently passed law mandating anti-profiling policies statewide is a welcome change that only reinforces the department's longstanding practices. House Bill 2002, which was signed by Governor Kate Brown in July, would require all law enforcement agencies in the state to have anti-profiling policies in place by Jan. 1, 2016. They'll also be required to regularly submit complaints about their officers to a statewide committee for review. While calling the bill's requirements "a very good thing," Chief Tim George adds that some form of anti-profiling policy has been in place at the Medford Police Department for roughly a decade. MPD's current anti-profiling policy — number 402 in the agency's policy manual — explicitly prohibits using race, sex, economic status, age or disability as a basis "for providing differing levels of law enforcement service or the enforcement of the law." "Even prior to 9-10 years ago, we would have still investigated a complaint of racial profiling or any bias-based policing through our complaint process," he says. "The change is going to be how we report those things to the state." Current numbers, George says, don't indicate that the department has a problem with profiling. Department numbers from 2013 and 2014 show that the vast majority of those arrested by MPD officers are white, with Latinos — roughly 13 percent of the county's population — making up less than 6 percent of those arrested. Of the 59 complaints of all types the department took in 2014 out of 91,473 calls for service and more than 10,000 arrests, only 18 complaints were sustained — none of which were related to racial bias, George says. He says the department receives complaints on less than .5 percent of its calls. Currently, residents can file a complaint against any officer in person at the department's records division or by filling out a complaint card. "We take the complaints in any method," George says. "They're investigated by at least a sergeant or above." The chief says the department will have to "tweak" policy 402 prior to January to fully meet the law's requirements, since the bill will allow the public to make complaints directly to the state review board as well as through the department. Reach reporter Thomas Moriarty at 541-776-4471, or by email at [email protected] . Follow him at @ThomasDMoriarty . Editor's note: This story has been corrected with regards to the percentage of calls MPD takes complaints regarding. By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By Thomas Moriarty Mail Tribune Posted Aug. 15, 2015 at 5:40 PM Updated Aug 16, 2015 at 5:23 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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