Racial profiling is unfair — but does it happen here?

That was the question Wednesday at a discussion at Grant Towers South, where LiTesa Wallace, a Grant community adviser, arranged for students and local police to elaborate on racial profiling, a controversial practice in which police pull over drivers because of race.

A Northern Star report last month included the University Police statistic of 2,703 routine traffic stops last year. Of the drivers pulled over, 65 percent were white, 21 percent were black, 4 percent Hispanic and 3 percent Asian.

Lt. John Hunter, interim University Police chief, said the initial reason anyone gets pulled over is for probable cause — that is, an officer having significant reason to suspect a driver of a crime.

“Every time the officer does his or her data entry at the station, they have to document why they pulled someone over,” Hunter said.

He assured guests at the forum that there is no large “pull-over quota” at NIU.

“All the officers must report 10 traffic contacts,” Hunter said. “That may consist of warnings and writing tickets.”

Special guest Charles Pate, an officer in a south suburban district of Chicago, said a person could be pulled over for more offenses than he or she realizes.

“There are 395 reasons to be pulled over,” he said. “If you are just polite to the officer, you can drive off without getting a ticket.”

Derrick Smith, an academic counselor at the Center for Black Studies, said he has been stopped before without probable cause.

“I drove my son’s car once and I noticed right away that I was being followed,” Smith said. “After the officer ran the plates and found that nothing was wrong, he still pulled me over because he said I made a sharp turn.”

Devetta Blackwell, a freshman communication major, said drivers who feel targeted have two responsibilities.

“Know what rights you have as a citizen,” Blackwell said. “Don’t give them a reason to pull you over. If you know your license is expired, then don’t drive.”

Hunter said driving with suspended privileges is a common offense among campus drivers.

“We may pull someone over for having a revoked license and issue them a ticket. Then, a few days later we will see that same person and car out on the road,” he said. “Naturally we have to get them another ticket.”

It gets so bad, Hunter said, that officers know offenders on a first-name basis.

“Soon we are considered ‘harassers’ when it is the same person repeatedly violating the law,” he said.

Also Wednesday, students raised concerns about police officers monitoring certain DeKalb clubs over others.

“Students came and told me that the police let students drive off of the Amnesia lot drunk, but pull over many students coming out of Booker T’s,” Smith said, referring to two city night spots. “I went out one weekend and found the same thing to be true. That’s a problem.”