Pros And Cons Of Racial Profiling

1192 Words3 Pages

The Necessity of Racial Profiling

Racial profiling is defined as targeting and further investigating a specific group of people due to that group’s race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin. The policy regarding racial profiling has been a great debate in the United States over the last few years due to tragic events that have been either a result of racial profiling, or an occurrence due to the lack of it. Like any other policy, racial profiling only began in order to protect the citizens of our country. Law enforcement is obligated to some degree to “racially profile” those who fit the criteria of targeted national threats. Unfortunately, like any other law enforced act, racial profiling can get out of hand and hurt more than save, which is obviously cruel and unfair. However, with the proper boundaries and examination, racial profiling can be more of an advantage than a disadvantage to our country and is, therefore, a policy that should continue. The …show more content…

Many feel that it is ineffective because those that are most likely to be profiled against don’t cooperate with law enforcement, even if they are not the ones committing a crime just because they feel discriminated against. Those who have been racially profiled unjustly find it hard to see how essential it is, which is completely understandable. However, this is where it is played out wrong. Profiling is not about discriminating, persecuting, or harassing any race, religion, or ethnicity. It is solely about safety and therefore when it is done to any citizen, it should in no way be taken offensively or personally. People must understand when officers are forced to do this, they are doing it for the good of the country, for the good of people around them, and honestly for their own good. With this straight mindset, people will be able to understand how effective and essential this policy

Show More
Related

  • Racial Profiling In Bob Herbert's Hounding The Innocent

    378 Words  | 1 Pages

    First of all, racial profiling is unfair to its victims . Racial profiling is seen through the police in “Hounding the Innocent”, which is unfair since a person shouldn’t be pulled over more because of their race and that many of these stops have little to no connection to an actual crime. “Young black and Hispanic males are being stopped, frisked, and harassed in breathtaking numbers” (Herbert, 29) This is unfair to all victims of racial

    Read More

  • How Racial Profiling Led to the Death of Trayvon Martin

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    Racial profiling is wrong! Racial profiling has done way more bad than it has done good. Racial profiling has killed innocence people, and has served no justice. Racial profiling has pushed America one step back from the many years we have come from slavery and segregation. Should people use racial profiling be used as an excuse to interrupt a person’s personal life? Racial profiling takes away from the trust we have in our law enforcement. Everyone wants to be protected by authorities not harmed by them no matter your age, or race. I am afraid of justice system, shouldn’t you be to?

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Racial Profiling

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    Terrorism and racial profiling is nothing new in our society. Although some people would like to believe that it is nonexistent, it is still a major issue in today’s world. With that being said, my view on the subject is that racial profiling is going to continue to happen whether we like it or not. I believe profiling isn 't necessarily meant to intentionally harm anyone, but is used as a tool to prevent terrorism. Past terroristic attacks have lead to the many stereotypes and prejudice that our country has today.

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling in Today's Society

    1740 Words  | 4 Pages

    Racial profiling is the tactic of stopping someone because of the color of his or her skin and a fleeting suspicion that the person is engaging in criminal behavior (Meeks, p. 4-5). This practice can be conducted with routine traffic stops, or can be completely random based on the car that is driven, the number of people in the car and the race of the driver and passengers. The practice of racial profiling may seem more prevalent in today’s society, but in reality has been a part of American culture since the days of slavery. According to Tracey Maclin, a professor at the Boston University School of Law, racial profiling is an old concept. The historical roots “can be traced to a time in early American society when court officials permitted constables and ordinary citizens the right to ‘take up’ all black persons seen ‘gadding abroad’ without their master’s permission” (Meeks, p. 5). Although slavery is long since gone, the frequency in which racial profiling takes place remains the same. However, because of our advanced electronic media, this issue has been brought to the American public’s attention.

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling: Effective Policing or Discriminatory Practice?

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    When police stop someone of a minority because they fit the profile of suspect people become outraged and say that the officer was racially profiling. White argues that profiling based on statistical evidence is an effective way to save time, money and sometimes lives. Many people feel the opposite of White and say that profiling is a way to harass minorities and make them feel unequal in the land of the free. Many people that are pro-profiling say that it happens in almost everything we do, from applying to college to interview for a job. Even shop owners profile so why can’t the police department profile when they are trying to keep the city streets safe. The individuals against profiling say that it targets minorities in order to make them feel out of

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling: Is it Intentional? Can We Correct it?

    986 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • An Argument Against Racial Profiling by Police

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    Racial profiling in the dictionary is “the assumption of criminality among ethnic groups: the alleged policy of some police to attribute criminal intentions to members of some ethnic groups and to stop and question them in disproportionate numbers without probable cause (“Racial Profiling”).” In other words racial profiling is making assumptions that certain individuals are more likely to be involved in misconduct or criminal activity based on that individual’s race or ethnicity. Racial profiling propels a brutalizing message to citizens of the United States that they are pre-judged by the color of their skin rather than who they are and this then leads to assumptions of ruthlessness inside the American criminal justice system. With race-based assumptions in the law enforcement system a “lose-lose” situation is created due to America’s diverse democracy and destroys the ability to keep the criminal justice system just and fair. Although most police officers perform their duties with fairness, honor, and dedication, the few officers who portray to be biased then harm the whole justice system resulting in the general public stereotyping every law enforcement officer as a racial profiler (Fact Sheet Racial Profiling). When thinking about racial profiling many people automatically think it happens only to blacks but sadly this is mistaken for far more ethnic groups and races such as Jews, Muslims, Mexicans, Native Americans, and many more are racially profiled on a day to day basis. Many people believe racial profiling to be a myth because they see it as police officers merely taking precautions of preventing a crime before it happens, but in reality racial profiling has just become an approved term for discrimination and unjust actio...

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling: An Uncessary Injustice

    2224 Words  | 5 Pages

    Racial profiling is the most idiotic and arrogant thing you can ever do as a person. Usually the people who are affected by racial profiling are minorities, however, any person can be a victim of racial profiling. Some may think that racial profiling is non-existent, however, I would like to bring the situation into focus and show that it is still in existence and has been observed in the past and now in the current year. Although, more than fifty percent of the time racial profiling is conducted it is against a man or woman of color; an African-American in other words. There are instances where a white person can be a victim as well. Trying not to say that there isn't any person out there that is exempted from racial profiling, because there isn't a single person who is just exempted from this cruel method of decision making. In my essay I will talk about racial profiling and what it is, however, you can't forget about where it happens and of course why. Several resolutions will be discussed in this essay to alleviate this problem.

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling by Police in Canada

    2887 Words  | 6 Pages

    The key to understanding racialized profiling is to understand what systemic discrimination and profiling mean. Systemic discrimination sometimes called systemic racism is defined as, “Patterns and practices… which, although they may not be intended to disadvantage any group, can have the effect of disadvantaging or permitting discrimination against… racial minorities” (Comack, 2012, p30). Profiling in policing is defined as,

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling by Police

    1500 Words  | 3 Pages

    Profiling is unconstitutional and violates civil rights. Police can search a person without a warrant if they have reasonable doubt that they are armed and dangerous; however, of people who are pulled over while driving, less than 4% of whites are searched while about 10% of bla...

    Read More

  • An Argument Against Racial Profiling

    1120 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling

    1102 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every day you see and hear about minorities groups complain about cops and their tactics against them stopping them while in traffic taking them in to custody or even getting kill over nothing. Racial Profiling is a common thing in this community and it is causing a lot of trouble. According to Minnesota House of Representatives analyst Jim Cleary, "there appear to be at least two clearly distinguishable definitions of the term 'racial profiling ': a narrow definition and a broad definition... Under the narrow definition, racial profiling occurs when a police officer stops, questions, arrests, and/or searches someone solely on the basis of the person 's race or ethnicity... Some ways to stop it is find out who is guilty of it, look at their

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling Is Unfair

    600 Words  | 2 Pages

    Although some would believe that racial profiling does not occur and if it does it is used to keep the society safe, it is more correct to say that it disrespects and mistreats innocent citizens. More and more people are being stopped each year for crimes they did not commit and being singled out because of their race. Being racially profiled, harassed and mistreated is something that Latinos, Asians and African Americans go through every day. I believe that people should not be stopped and judged because of physical appearance. This is something that takes away ones individual’s rights and is very disrespectful.

    Read More

  • Everything Isn T Racial Profiling By Linda Chavez Summary

    1322 Words  | 3 Pages

    Our criminal justice book defines racial profiling as "any police initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the behavior of an individual, or on information that leads the police to a particular individual who has been identified as being, or having been, engaged in criminal activity” (Schmalleger 757). I think it is best summed up as the practice of using race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion as the primary factor in deciding who to subject to law enforcement investigations. Racial profiling can be used as a basis for racist police officers to arrest more minorities and this is documented very often. In the article Jim Crow policing, Bob Herbert talks about the unnecessary frisking and racism connected to searching for potential criminals. Herbert makes several points as to why police are harassing the black and Latino population and how it is wrong.

    Read More

  • Racial Profiling

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the American Civil Liberties Union, Racial Profiling refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, social economic class, sexual orientation, and so on. (American Civil Liberties Union) It is to say that authorities in charge of providing security and justice have taken this power to an extent in which discriminate people, especially the ones who are in disempowered groups.

    Read More

More about Pros And Cons Of Racial Profiling

Open Document