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Other concerns regarding compensation, recruiting and retention, and promotional <br />processes were also addressed in the 1997 report. Many of the findings from that <br />earlier report echo those that have been included in this current review. <br /> <br />Since that time, the EPD has taken some proactive steps to address community <br />concerns, particularly the charge of racial profiling. In 2003, the department <br />commissioned a study which found that there were differences in the rates at which <br />racial/ethnic groups were stopped, the reason for the stop, the district of the stop, <br />stop results, duration of the stop, whether or not a search was conducted, and <br />differences between racial/ethnic groups in terms of search success. However, the <br />report takes care to point out that these differences may not necessarily indicate <br />racial profiling. <br /> <br /> "Whether or not these differences indicate that racial profiling is occurring in <br /> Eugene, Oregon, is not a question that can be answered by this (sic) data. <br /> Each of the differences discussed .... could be the result of a multitude of <br /> factors. While this research cannot provide definitive answers to the racial <br /> profiling question, the results can serve as a resource to inform current and <br /> future discussions, debates, and public policy on racial profiling and related <br /> issues ....... Finally, these results provide an opportunity Jbr divergent <br /> perspectives to find common ground. The racial profiling debate has divided <br /> the Eugene community and the Eugene Police Department for years, and <br /> these results provide a shared resource from which all sides can work together <br /> to understand, interpret, and creative effective policy changes for the future.-3 <br /> <br />The Police Commission and the Human Rights Commission have been assessing <br />community values and critiquing the activities, programs, practices, and policies of <br />the police department. A break-away group, Citizens Uniledfor Better Policing, was <br />formed after the Cortez Jordan incident, and is taking an active role in pushing for <br />policy changes. There have been calls for an external review board to oversee the <br />handling of complaints filed against members of the police department. <br /> <br />3 See http://www.ci.eugene.or.us/police/RACIAPROF/VehicleDataReprtl.pdf (September 20, 2004) <br /> <br /> 11 <br /> <br /> <br />