Profiling: The Negative Effects Of Racial Profiling

Introduction:

In 2003, 36 black police officers were asked to recount their lived experiences with having been the subjects of racial profiling, and a majority indi- cated that they had been stopped and questioned by other police officers ‘‘for no other reason than the colour of their skin’’ (Tanovich 2006: 1–2).

( Satzewich & Shaffir 2009) By definition racial profiling is an act undertaken for reasons of safety, that relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin, or a number of these put together, rather than on a reasonable suspicion. Racial profiling is generally carried out but a person of authorithy, i.e police, principal, teacher, employer or landlord. (Ontario Human Rights Commission)

127) Racial Profiling does not only effect blacks, Middle eastern people as well as any others with a brown skin tone face the negative effects of profiling. “In a study conducted by the Toronto Star in 2002, it showed that black Torontonians are over-represented in certain charge categories, that black people are treated more harshly than whites after they are arrested, and that black offenders are much more likely to be held in custody for bail hearings than their white counterparts” (Rankin, Quinn, Shephard, Simmie, and Duncanson 2002).(Satzewich & Shaffir 2009) Profiling not only alianates people but reinforces negative stereotypes,even if for example a black man is stopped for no other reason than his skin colour , others around won 't know he has done nothing , thus making him appear to be a mennace to society. In terms of Immigration and the workplace Canada doesn 't have the greatest history of allowing immigrants here based on race . From

Conflict theory plays a major role when looking at racial profiling due to the fact of a patriarical society it looks at the power struggle and one of the reasons behind racial profiling is to keep society in “order” and the way it currently is , which is a society dominated by white males. For them to keep this power their needs to be a obvious distintion in majorities and minorities. Racial minorities are seen as a threat to the ruling class. Conflict theory states that the ruling class will crime control as a way to limit the minority threatening them , which is partially what racial profiling is about. “ Organizations will minimize strains on themselves by processing those who are politically weak and powerless, while refraining from processing those who are politically powerful.”(Chambliss and Seidman (1971, p. 269) (Petrocelli et al., 2002) Conflict theory looks for the problem to result in positive change. . Racial profiling would have never been a ground to appeal your sentence 50 years agao but today it is. Thus showing a positve change has already been