December 23, 1999
Web posted at: 4:00 p.m. EST (2100 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Under a deal reached to stave off a lawsuit threatened by the federal government, New Jersey has agreed to new procedures to ensure that its state police do not target minorities when making traffic stops.

The agreement announced on Wednesday between the state and the U.S. Justice Department prohibits state troopers from relying on race, national origin or ethnicity when making traffic stops, except when a suspect has been identified based on those details.

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It also requires state troopers to document the race, ethnic origin and gender of all motorists they stop and to obtain written consent before initiating any consensual searches.

"This agreement will establish real safeguards against racially discriminatory stops and searches for motorists who drive on New Jersey's highways," said Bill Lann Lee, acting assistant attorney general for civil rights, in a written statement.

"We are pleased the state has worked together with us to develop such a comprehensive agreement," he said.

The agreement must be approved by a federal court.

Justice Department officials said in April they had found enough evidence of racial discrimination by New Jersey State Police troopers to file a civil rights suit. The 2,700-member force has been accused of targeting minority drivers for traffic stops and discriminating against its own officers.

In the consent decree, New Jersey denied that its state police had engaged in racial profiling or any other discriminatory practice. The police department adopted a formal policy in 1990 prohibiting troopers from considering a person's race except where that "characteristic is directly and specifically related to particular criminal activity."

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