The sun rises. Every day. Empirical data suggests that it will happen tomorrow, too. But if it were left to some politicians, taxpayers would be funding the commissioning of some new studies, and the retaining of some well-qualified consultants, to examine just exactly why the sun keeps coming up, and whether it will continue to do so in the future.

Similarly, Seattle's brain trust wants to study racial profiling. Duh. We know it's a problem. But rather than trying to actually stop this venal practice, we get politicians spewing hot air about what an unfortunate thing it is (if it happens).

Last week, the Seattle City Council canceled its cowardly vote on a (non-binding) Jim Compton resolution condemning racial profiling, calling for more study, and calling for the Seattle Police Department to stop it. A lawyer in City Attorney Mark Sidran's office reportedly told an activist that the purpose of the resolution was to help protect the city in its defense against a prospective lawsuit being filed against the city for racial profiling.

A resolution is better than silence, which is what we've had for decades. But the problem is nicely summarized by one of the draft's "Whereas" segments: "WHEREAS, the reasons for [higher rates of ticketing among African Americans in Seattle] are poorly understood..."

Maybe white folks don't understand. Ask any black person. They understand. It's called racism--a word polite Seattle shies away from, and one that should not be used lightly.

In this case, no other word will do. Too many whites take this as an accusation, but it's not; it's simply a statement of fact. One need not have hooded bigots careening through the streets of Seattle in squad cars to have institutionalized racism, and hence racial profiling. We can, and do, have institutional racism--that is, a systematic discrimination against minorities because of the color of their skin--in a city brimming with well-meaning liberals protesting their broad-mindedness. The problem is not the bigotry of individuals, although as with anywhere else, Seattle, and the Seattle Police Department, has its proportionate share of bigots. The problem is the result of the system.

The system, in this case, leads to officers deciding to stop African Americans, and particularly young African Americans men, for pretexts that would be insufficient grounds for stopping a white person. The reasons may vary: the car looks new, and the suspect shouldn't be able to afford a new car (read: deals drugs). The car looks old, and therefore shouldn't be on the road (find a safety violation). The suspect looks nervous. (Wouldn't you be?) The suspect is a suspect, not simply another citizen, because he is black.

I had a fascinating conversation this month with a veteran SPD officer, who wished to remain anonymous for obvious reasons. The officer blasted the department for the racism and sexism of many of its men--and women. He cited example after example of officers hounded by colleagues, passed over for promotions, and excluded from the "Old Boy" network because of skin color or gender: "The mood for women and minorities is a nightmare here." He criticized Norm Stamper in particular for looking the other way when presented with cases of internal racism, and for failing to set up an internal relations committee to deal with problems among officers. He told of celebrations when I-200 passed. He made the astounding claim--impossible to verify--that no SPD officer had ever been demoted or fired for sexual harassment.

If this is how many SPD officers treat their colleagues, how can they be expected to treat ordinary citizens? How many more studies do we need? What will it take for the city to exercise real oversight of the Seattle Police Department?

Racial profiling studies are useless. For one thing, we already have enough data. For another, when officers know data is being compiled, there is nothing to stop them from lying--omitting stops, or changing the race of the driver (there is, after all, no other data required beyond a license plate).

Instead, we need cameras in squad cars. Film doesn't lie. It also captures the intangibles: the demeanor of the officer, the actual offense (real or imagined) that is the pretext for the stop. Cameras are also a safety tool for officers. And SPD needs department-wide racism sensitivity trainings. Such trainings may not change years of ingrained behavior, but they send a message far more concrete than city council resolutions or a speech from a new chief.

Particularly in the wake of the David Walker shootings, distrust of SPD among minorities in Seattle is epidemic. It is not a time for symbolic gestures, or meetings with a few community leaders. SPD needs to institute a systematic method for tracking racial profiling, with dire consequences for officers, white or black, that engage in it. And if SPD doesn't take action, the city council should pass ordinances requiring it to. Nothing less will do.