Many law enforcement officers in Southeast Missouri say a law passed last year requiring collection of racial information for each traffic stop isn't relevant to their jobs.

The law passed by the Missouri Legislature requires each agency to submit a report to the state that shows the age, race and gender of every driver or pedestrian police officers or troopers stop. The goal is to prevent police from targeting people because of race, and departments that fail to file reports could lose state funding.

Law enforcement agencies are in the process of compiling the data by March 1 to give to the Missouri attorney general's office, which will provide it in an annual report to the Missouri General Assembly and the governor.

Perry County Sheriff Gary Schaaf sees the racial information as one more unnecessary piece of paper that has to be filled out.

Out of 803 persons stopped in Perry County for traffic violations during last year's reporting period, 690 were white and 95 were black, Schaaf said.

Eight were listed as "unknown."

"It's kind of silly in one respect," Schaaf said. "Most of the stops we have are at night, so we usually can't tell what color the person is" prior to approaching the car.

Cape Girardeau police Lt. Carl Kinnison said stops in Cape Girardeau generally are based on location.

"Most of ours have occurred in areas where we have the most accidents," Kinnison said. "That's about what we expected."

Between Aug. 28 and Dec. 31 last year, approximately 86 percent of drivers stopped by Cape Girardeau police were white, while 11.5 percent were black.

Many police believe the statistics for the region simply reflect local racial demographics rather than discrimination against particular groups.

"If someone was looking for something other than the statistics presented there, they won't find it," Kinnison said.

Each law enforcement agency was required to develop a ticket to comply with the law.

A common complaint by officers is the extra time required to process the tickets. It adds an extra hour of work each day for Jackson, Mo., police, Chief Marvin Sides said.

The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department is still compiling data on its traffic stops to meet the deadline, Capt. Ruth Ann Dickerson said.

In some instances, officers will avoid asking a driver his race and mark "unknown," Sides said. When police ask drivers their race, it can result in embarrassment for both the officer and the person stopped, Sides said.

Out of 667 traffic stops in Jackson, only one "unknown" was marked, he said.

Cape Girardeau police are also allowed to make their own decision about asking a person his racial heritage, Kinnison said.

Cpl. Rick Schmidt doesn't see the racial identification as a problem.

"It's not a hassle," he said. "It's real easy for an officer to fill out. It's just another piece of paper."

Cape Girardeau numbers

Cape Girardeau police compiled the following racial data for drivers during traffic stops between Aug. 28 and Dec. 31 last year:

Total traffic stops: 1,633

White: 1,408

Black/African American: 187

Hispanic: 13

American Indian: 19

Other/Unknown: 5