"I don't want to talk about whether or not racial profiling is legal. Racial profiling is not an effective law enforcement tool." -- Eric Holder, 82nd Attorney General of the United States
Before any argument can be made against racial profiling, it is important to understand what racial profiling is. The American Civil Liberties Union, defines racial profiling as "the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin"(Racial Profiling: Definition). Using this definition we can determine that racial profiling excludes any evidence of wrong-doing and relies solely on the characteristics listed above. We can also see that racial profiling is different from criminal profiling, which uses evidence of wrong-doing and facts which can include information obtained from outside sources and evidence gathered from investigation. Based on these definitions, I will show that racial profiling is unfair and ineffective because it relies on stereotyping, encourages discrimination, and in many cases can be circumvented.
There have been many studies and case reports involving racial profiling, particularly racial profiling issues involving traffic stop and seizures. In a study done of reports on the stop-and-searches done on Interstate 95 in Maryland, it was found that 28.4 percent of black drivers and passengers and 28.8 percent of white drivers and passengers stopped were found with illegal contraband. (U.S. Department of Justice) The disparity between the two statistics is a mere .4 percent and shows that race is not an issue. Further reading into the seventy one page report written by the U.S. Department of Justice sho...
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...ng: Definition." The American Civil Liberties Union. Web. 18 June 2015.
https://www.aclu.org/racial-profiling-definition
Derbyshire, John. "In Defence of Racial Profiling." 2001. Web. 18 June 2015.
http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/viewSubCategory.asp?id=133
Nomani, Asra Q. "Is racial or religious profiling ever justified?" 18 April 2011. Web. 18 June 2015.
http://www1.ccs.k12.in.us/teachers/downloads/cms_block_file/83851/file/139411
Schneier, Bruce. "Will Profiling Make a Difference?" 2010. New York Times: Room for Debate. Web. 18 June 2015.
http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/04/will-profiling-make-a-difference/?_r=0
U.S. Department of Justice. "A Resource Guide on Racial Profiling Data Collection Systems." December 2000. U.S. Department of Justice. Web. 18 June 2015.
http://justice.utah.gov/Documents/Research/Race/DOJResourceGuide.pdf
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Show MoreIn the United States of America today, racial profiling is a deeply troubling national problem. Many people, usually minorities, experience it every day, as they suffer the humiliation of being stopped by police while driving, flying, or even walking for no other reason than their color, religion, or ethnicity. Racial profiling is a law enforcement practice steeped in racial stereotypes and different assumptions about the inclination of African-American, Latino, Asian, Native American or Arab people to commit particular types of crimes. The idea that people stay silent because they live in fear of being judged based on their race, allows racial profiling to live on.
People of color are being pursued on the highways in the land of the free. In Bob Herbert’s “Hounding the innocent” acts of racial profiling are displayed flagrantly. Racial profiling should be illegal, since it is unfair to its victims, demoralizing, and it breaks the trust between the public and the police.
Opponents will argue that racial profiling is based on suspicious behavior and not on race. They feel as though racial profiling can potentially stop certain crimes befor...
Wilkins, V. M., & Williams, B. N. (2008). Black or blue: Racial profiling and representative
Williams, Walter. “Racial Profiling.” (1999). N. pag. Online. AT&T Worldnet. Internet. 5 Dec 2000. Available: www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/williams031099.asp
Cassola, A. (2009). Point: Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement is Unjust. Retrieved from Canadian Points of View Reference Centre.
Racial profiling is a wide spread term in the American justice system today, but what does it really mean? Is racial profiling just a term cooked up by criminals looking for a way to get out of trouble and have a scapegoat for their crimes? Is it really occurring in our justice system, and if so is it done intentionally? Most importantly, if racial profiling exists what steps do we take to correct it? The answer to these questions are almost impossible to find, racial profiling is one of many things within our justice system that can be disputed from any angle and has no clear cut answers. All that can be done is to study it from different views and sources and come up with one’s own conclusion on the issue.
"Racial Profiling: Definition." American Civil Liberties Union. N.p., 05 Nov. 2005. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. .
Tomaskovic-devey, Donald, and Patricia Warren. "Explaining and Eliminating Racial Profiling." Contexts Vol. 8, No. 2. Spring 2009: 34. SIRS Issues Researcher.
According to a 2011 report from Washington Press, “the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights found evidence of widespread racial profiling, showing that African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately likely to be stopped and searched by police, even though they’re less likely to be found possessing contraband or committing a criminal act”( Natarajan) Racial profiling has its origins in the nineteenth century, when many scientists in Europe and America tried to prove that people of certain physiques bore positive and negative personality traits that matched their physical features as stated in Racial Profiling: An
Racial profiling has been a common controversy between law enforcement and communities, specifically those of a minority population. This activity has been ultimately allowed by federal and state governments as they benefit from the aid in pinpointing or otherwise targeting criminals or illegal aliens. Furthermore, racial profiling has become more of a commonly encountered practice especially after the September 11 attacks.
Ramirez, D., McDevitt, J., & Farrell, A. (2006). A Resource Guide on Racial Profiling Data Collection Systems: Promising Practices and Lessons Learned. Retrieved August 05, 2010, from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=mHqDZnqKHLYC&oi=fnd&pg=PA57&dq=ramirez,+p.,+mcdevitt,+j.+%282006%29,j.%282006%29+,+farrell,+a.+issues,+data+and+analysis.&ots=FygYTSDQgd&sig=MkiXUBNZiBkSBaq_0fjA9-fmbuQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
This paper will define the topic of racial profiling as well as the history, present day issues, how it may be dealt with in the future, and my opinion on the topic. Racial Profiling is the practice of targeting people of color or a certain ethnicity for investigation or arrest. History starts with the New Jersey State Police department of investigation of activities instituted the term racial profiling that we know today in order to raise awareness of the issue. Some of the current issues today with racial profiling have caused many problems for the criminal justice system entirely, hindering police efforts in communities and losing the reliability of the people. The future of racial profiling has been a debatable topic but though it may be impossible to get rid of entirely much progress has been made in controlling it. My opinion on the topic is that maybe more training in how to use discretion when making a gut feeling about a situation.
Some Advocators argued that racial profiling has a major effect on society. In Arrest Development, James B. Forman Argues that, “Blacks are usually the victims of racial profiling; he also argues that unlike the Republican leaders, the Democratic leaders have publicly denouncing racial profiling. Forman believes that racial profiling, turn the police against minorities instead of for them; moreover racial profiling corrupts the effect of equal treatment under the law.” (qtd in Crime and Criminals, 2004).
8. University, Northeastern. "B." June 2001. Racial Profiling Data Collection Resource Center at Northeastern University. 29 March 2011 .