WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Eric Holder says the Justice Department plans to collect data on police stops, searches and arrests in an effort to study racial bias in law enforcement.
Holder said in a video message Monday that the data will be collected in five pilot cities over two years as part of a new initiative called the National Center for Building Community Trust and Justice. He said racial disparities in the criminal justice system "breed resentment" toward law enforcement.
The $4.75 million project will be funded through grants; the cities will be named later.
After the acquittal of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the Florida death of Trayvon Martin, President Barack Obama directed the Justice Department to work with local law enforcement to help ease tensions between police and minorities.
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