In recent years, racial profiling by law enforcement has been a progressively divisive issue in the United States. Racial profiling by law enforcement refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity as a fundamental reason to stop, search, interrogate and, or arrest an individual. Although, racial profiling is illegal and violates the constitution core declaration of equal protection of the law and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures, police and law enforcement agents still use racial profiling as a law enforcement tool. Thus, throughout this paper, the researcher will expound on racial profiling in three manners: towards African Americans(Blacks), towards Arab/Middle Eastern individuals after 9/11, and towards legal immigrants, …show more content…
In this poll, involving telephone interviews from 2,250 adults in America, Gallup(2004) investigated the public opinion on racial profiling with two methods. Gallup (2004) first method of approach was asking the respondents “how widespread they think the practice of racial profiling is when: motorists are stopped on roads and highways, passengers are stopped at airport security checkpoints, and shoppers are questioned in malls and stores about possible theft.” Results showed that a considerable amount of Americans believe racial profiling is widespread in all three circumstances. 53% of respondents think the practice of stopping motorists due to their race or ethnicity is widespread. 49% of respondents think racial profiling is used widely by those attempting to prevent theft in shopping malls and stores, and 42% of respondents think the practice is widespread at security checkpoints in airports. Needless to say, perceptions about the occurrence of racial profiling differ by racial and ethnic group. Blacks and Hispanics generally believe it is more common than whites. For instance, 67% of blacks and 63% of Hispanics felt that racial profiling is widespread in traffic stops compared to the 50% of whites that felt the practice is widespread. Furthermore, blacks at 54% and Hispanics at 48% were nearly just as likely to believe that profiling is widespread in airports compared to the 40% of whites. Moreover, when asked about malls and stores, 65% of blacks and 56% of Hispanics believed the practice is widespread in that context, compared to only 45% of whites. Furthermore, Gallup (2004) second method of approach was asking the respondents “whether they think racial profiling is justified when: motorists are stopped on roads and highways, when passengers are stopped at airport security checkpoints, and when shoppers are questioned in malls and stores about possible theft.” Most of Americans
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Show MoreRacial 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.
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.
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.
Racial Profiling usually occurs when a combination of safety, public protection and stereotype are involve to judge a person. Racial profiling needs to be separated from criminal profiling which is based on actual behavior by a person and not a stereotype. The thing about stereotypes is that anyone can do it even people who are good and not bias. When examining ourselves and really look at our first judgment of people, it is noticed that our own assumptions and biases would lead many of us to realize that we have stereotyped people m...
Racial profiling is defined as “The practice of substituting skin color for evidence as grounds for suspicion.” In Layman’s terms, racial profiling is when police officers stop, search, and arrest more people of one minority race that a majority race. Typically, American Latinos and African-Americans are among the main targets of racial profiling, mainly caused by decades of stereotypical beliefs that most “gangsters” and other criminals are of one of these two races. Since the disaster of 9/11 and the wars in the Middle East, Arabs and South Asians have become much more likely targets of racial profiling, especially with airport security and in major cities. The act ...
Racial Profiling has been used by law enforcement officials from early 60’s during the civil rights movement. The term “racial profiling” which was introduced to criticize abusive police practices against people of different race, ethnicity or national origin. One must assess how to understand the practice, and how to keep it distinct from other issues. Racial profiling is defined as “any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national origin, rather than the behavior of an individual or information that leads the police to a particular individual who has been identified as being, or having been, engaged in criminal activity.” (Ramirez 5).
According to the Encarta Dictionary, Racial Profiling is the assumption of criminality among ethnic groups without probable cause. Since the September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda attack on the World Trade Center, racial profiling has been the temporary tactic used to stop terrorism. After more than ten years since implementing this practice, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has made little progress. Some American citizens are still skeptical of Middle Eastern and Muslim people even though TSA has caught no terrorists through racial profiling. Although racial profiling has the potential to catch terrorists, it should not be used because racial profiling can justify terrorist acts, it will not improve airport and airline security, and it is discrimination.
The main benefit of racial profiling, based on opinions of others, is to save costs. The government’s resources are not unlimited, and any strategy that can be successfully used to limit the amount of money and time needed, may allow other demands of the government to use the extra resources (Huq). For racial profiling to be beneficial, the government must use this strategy properly. The race of an individual can be used as an identifier, much like gender and predominate characteristics. It would be extremely irresponsible for a police officer to search for a suspect of a recent crime and ignore their identified race when searching for the suspect. This form of profiling is acceptable because the identification of a suspect’s race allows police officers to use fewer resources than otherwise needed in a larger pool of potential suspects. Often, police officers have very little to go on when attempting to find a criminal. Officers should b...
Racial profiling in America, as evidenced by recent events, has reached a critical breaking point. No longer can an African American, male or female, walk into a store, school, or any public place without fear of being stereotyped as a person of suspicion. Society constantly portrays the African American
In the first article, “Justice Dept. announces new rules to curve racial profiling by federal law enforcement”, author Sari Horwitz, points out that the Barack Obama administration has banned racial profiling for federal law enforcements institutions, but not for local police departments. The banning will prevent agents from considering race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, and/or sexual orientation. All before opening national security and other criminal or civil cases involving the individual. Moreover, the federal law enforcement officers should attempt to serve as role models for state and local law enforcements officers. As they should demonstrate that successful social safety does not require racial profiling. However, some believe that the banning of racial profiling should also be strictly enforced by states.
in todays society, an often recurring topic of racial profiling seems to plague the world through many political aspects. Racial profiling is one of the biggest injustices that individuals face in the world mainly because racism has always been something that plagued this world. Even though racial profiling is something that’s plaguing the world in today’s society, part of the biggest reason why this is such a problem is because of our worlds history. In many years past, different races use to do certain things that would often cause others to commit racial profiling. For example, since muslims were the cause of the devastation of 9/11, people will automatically have a natural reaction of fear when they are on an airplane. Racial profiling
Racial profiling had swept our nation it is the most conservation challenge in this new era. Though it has many forms of this practice, in law enforcement it is commonly associated with thinking a particular group or race are more likely to commit a crime than others. It has been depicted by its critics as discriminatory,
Our visual project was about Racial Profiling. Our topic obviously related to the course because it happens in our society. For many years, cops had been racially profiled the minorities for the major crimes and even for the minor crimes. Even though, the majority of the people that had been caught never commit a crime before, the way they look became the main reason. Besides, race is a significant element in the creation of US social organization and continues to shape the type and extent of state-sanctioned control practices. Racial threat theory proposes that racialization occurs when Whites use their disproportionate power to implement state-control over minorities and, in the face of a growing minority population, encourage more rigorous,
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.
Have you ever been followed by store officials or security while shopping in a department store? At first, all of the attention can be flattering but quickly becomes insulting once you realize they’re not following you to offer any assistance. Instead because of how you look you fit a certain profile that causes store officials to think you’ve come to their store to steal. This type of behavior is called racial profiling. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, racial profiling refers to the discrimination practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. Citizens need to be more aware of racial profiling and make laws that racial profiling should be illegal. Racial profiling is carried out by law enforcement airport security, and other security personnel that look to profile the minorities for no reason. Heather Sally Newton Driscoll ebscohost.com stated “The practice of profiling is rooted in centuries of discrimination and is based on stereotypes that have long been disproved. Profiling holds on entire population accountable for the committed by a small minority”.