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.
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.
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 has always been racial profiling in our history. The problem here is that at some point the ones who are oppressed and discriminated sooner o later will claim why they are treated unequally. There are many examples around the world, but one only has to take a look at how the American society has been designed to realize the great difference between individuals. It was even normal and acceptable to see these differences during the creation of this nation because the ones who supposedly had the power and knowledge of conquering made sure to create a huge division between leaders and subordinates.
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...
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...
In the past few years, racial profiling has become a very prominent issue in American society. In “Racial Profiling,” “Racial Profiling is a controversial and illegal discriminatory practice in which individuals are targeted for suspicion of crimes based on their ethnicity, race, or religion rather than on evidence-based suspicious behavior” (Para. 11). Many people are wronged because of this phenomenon and effects many of them in multiple ways. Racial profiling is effecting many people and it needs to be addressed.
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).
The definition of racial profiling, “refers to the practice of singling out individuals, solely based on their race or ethnicity, for questioning, investigation, arrest or detainment” and is so clearly a mistreatment of power, racial profiling is nonetheless legal in most states and not much is being done to stop it. For this crime to stop completely, we have to recognize the crime and make laws to stand against racial
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).
Can you imagine being stopped by the police on your way to an everyday activity, soon to find out that it was all because of the color of your skin? This is called racial profiling, defined as: “a controversial and illegal discriminatory practice in which individuals are targeted for suspicion of crimes based on their ethnicity,race,or religion rather than on evidence-based suspicious behavior”(Racial Profiling).This is a growing problem that can happen to anyone at anytime due to lingering racism and ignorance that still exists today. Racial profiling isn’t fair to anyone. People should be judged on the kind of person they are rather than how they look. Some say that racial profiling is a problem that only African American can relate to ,but
How often have you witnessed the targeting of African Americans in our current society? Records have shown that the incarceration of black young adults in the United States of America has increased at an alarming rate over the last few decades. Through the use of racial profiling, African American males are less likely to succeed socially, educationally and economically.
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,
America has come leaps and bounds from where it was one hundred years ago when it comes to racial profiling. one thing that is helping is the End Racial Profiling act which clearing states what racial profiling is and makes racial profiling illegal. One way to stop racial profiling would be to make police squads more diverse. Another way would be to crack down on more cops for racial
Racial profiling and the various problems that arise as a result of it bring up many controversial issues. Racial profiling is a topic that weighs heavy on the minds and opinions of many in this country. It has been the subject of many disagreements as to whether or not it actually exists. Some argue that certain races can’t see it because they never experience it, but a case can be made that all races experience it at some point. One of the most controversial is the debate of whether or not racial profiling is justified. One of the hindrances to finding an answer to this question is the fact that many agencies and departments in law enforcement refuse to cooperate with studies to