Colonel John A. Bolduc
AGO 19-2
No. 19-022
Nebraska Attorney General Opinion
State of Nebraska Office of the Attorney General
February 7, 2018
SUBJECT:
Application of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 20-504(3)(b) (Cum.
Supp. 2018) to the TraCS database system administered by the
Nebraska State Patrol
REQUESTED
BY: Colonel John A. Bolduc Superintendent of Law Enforcement
Nebraska State Patrol
WRITTEN
BY: Douglas J. Peterson, Attorney General, Laura A. Nigro,
Assistant Attorney General
INTRODUCTION
You
have requested an opinion from this office asking us to
determine the application of Neb. Rev. Stat. §
20-504(3)(b) (Cum. Supp. 2018) to the TraCS database system,
which is administered by the Nebraska State Patrol.
Specifically, you ask whether auto populating the TraCS
system with race information obtained from Department of
Motor Vehicles issued license barcodes comports with §
20-504(3)(b). For the reasons set forth below, we conclude
that auto population of the TraCS database with race
information is consistent with § 20-504(3)(b).
BACKGROUND
The
TraCS database is a system administered by the Nebraska State
Patrol ("NSP"). TraCS is a data collection, records
management, and reporting software system. It is used by law
enforcement agencies to collect information during motor
vehicle stops for use in generating eCitations, violation and
warning forms, accident forms, and various other law
enforcement specific forms. The system is currently being
used by the NSP as well as twenty other agencies across the
state. The NSP began using the TraCS system across the entire
agency in 2012. Prior to 2012, only a portion of the agency
used the system. During a motor vehicle stop, an officer
scans a driver's Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles
issued license,[1] and the TraCS database is auto
populated with certain information, including race, for use
in generating eCitations and other documents. Prior to 2012,
an officer manually entered information into the TraCS
database or used a paper form to collect the race
information. Starting in 2012, officers were able to begin
scanning driver's licenses to auto populate the TraCS
database. The NSP provides training to all users of the TraCS
system. The training directs officers to change the race
field if the officer's perception differs from that which...