Racial Profiling
In accordance with 77th Legislature’s mandate prohibiting racial profiling in Texas, the Dickinson Police Department affirms its commitment to unbiased policing in all encounters between an officer and any person. Furthermore, the Department will take measures to ensure behaviors and operating procedures that serve to promote public confidence and mutual trust through the provision of services in a fair and equitable fashion. Racial bias policing or “Racial Profiling” is a method and behavior that the Dickinson Police Department will not condone, nor tolerate and has established policy and procedure to prohibit. 

Definition: Racial Profiling is a law enforcement-initiated 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 Dickinson Police Department shall 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. 

If a person has a complaint regarding a Dickinson Police Officer's alleged racial profiling they may contact the “on duty” supervisor by telephone at 281-337-4700, the Office of the Chief of Police at 281-337-0476 or in person at 4000 Liggio Street, Dickinson, TX 77539.