Increased criticism of racial profiling and a local court case have made New Hampshire police departments more careful about following proper procedures when searching suspects.

Racial profiling is the practice of searching suspects based solely on their race, and most commonly involves police searching suspects who are black.

Concerns of how police stop and search suspects is an evolving area of the law, said Earl M. Sweeney, state police academy director for the N.H. Police Standards and Training Council.

More than ever, police departments are stressing that officers must be able to explain to a judge or jury why they searched a suspect.

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