WASHINGTON, December 8 (Sputnik) — The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday it will adopt stricter policies to prevent federal law enforcement agencies from racially profiling suspects amid massive public outcry for local police to end race related police brutality.
“The new policy instructs that… officers may not use race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, or gender identity to any degree, unless listed characteristics apply to a suspect description,” a DOJ statement read.
Under the new policy, federal law enforcement officers can no longer act on the belief that possession of a listed characteristic by itself makes the suspect a higher risk.
The implementation of the new policy follows race related police brutality cases in Missouri, New York, Arizona and Ohio, where unarmed African-American men were killed by white police officers which caused massive protests around the United States in the recent weeks.
