An Examination of the Policy of Racial Profiling

An Examination of the Ethical and Policy Considerations of Racial Profiling

Abstract Racial profiling is a law enforcement practice that uses race as a tool or evidence for law enforcement practices. This paper shows that the ethics of racial profiling is highly dependent on the circumstances and situation. Through the examples of the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, an examination of evidence and important considerations show that racial profiling can have both detrimental and beneficial consequences. Using an ethical cost-benefit analysis, the practice of racial profiling generally causes more harm than good when used in a law enforcement context.

An Examination of the Ethical and Policy Considerations of Racial Profiling Racial Profiling is a controversial law enforcement practice that brings about numerous complex ethical and policy considerations. As defined by report for the Department of Justice (Tamir 2009), racial profiling is “any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the behavior of an individual or information that leads police to a particular individual who has been identified as being, or having been, engaged in criminal activity.” Generally, the use of race in conjunction with other evidence has been a common method of investigation for law enforcement officials. However, the use of race in targeting potential suspects has been the center of a complex legal and ethical debate. Specifically, the debate surrounding racial profiling offers the issue of the proper use of race in targeting a suspect in a criminal investigation. Though the use of race can be important in investigative and law enforcement tactics, the practice of racial profiling leads to the potential of abusive actions by law enforcement in the pursuit of apprehending criminal suspects. In examining racial profiling as an ethical law enforcement practice, Michal Tamir (2009) introduces four guiding principles that help to analyze this complex issue: Relevance, Suitability, and Necessity. These principles provide a framework for analyzing the ethics of racial profiling as a law enforcement practice. Through the use of these principles in light of the War on Drugs and the War on Terror, this paper will show that the situation and nature of the criminal investigation determines the ethics of racial profiling. Relevance is defined as the proper use of evidence and factors in making a decision (Tamir, 2009). In the criminal justice system, law enforcement officials must take into account relevant information that allows them to properly target potential criminal suspects. In the example of the War on Drugs, racial profiling fails the test of “Relevance” (2009). Reiman (2011) states that racial profiling can be justified when empirical evidence shows that a certain ethnic group is statistically more likely to commit a certain crime. With the example of the War on Drugs, Ryberg (2011) cites that there is no empirical or statistical evidence that shows that a targeted race such as African-Americans is more likely to be guilty of a criminal drug activity than any other race. Given this evidence, race clearly has no relevance to aiding the law enforcement process in apprehending drug offenders. Therefore, the practice of racial profiling provides no benefit in the overall law enforcement goal of apprehending criminals. However, racial profiling can cause harm to the targeted person as well as violate our constitutional rights in the process of searches and seizures. Suitability requires that law enforcement officials only use the appropriate means to accomplish a relevant objective (Tamir 2009). In the example of the War on Drugs, Tamir (2009) cites various contexts that show that racial profiling is not an effective or efficient practice in apprehending criminals. Since racial profiling is not an effective law enforcement tool, there is no benefit in using such practice in catching criminals in the War on the Drugs. However, as mentioned before, the potential for abuse is a real threat in racial profiling and does not overcome the benefit of using race. Necessity requires that the practice must be a useful and important tactic in solving crime or apprehending criminals. Tamir (2009) points out that racial profiling is relatively useless when compared with advanced intelligence and information gathering techniques available to law enforcement. He also states that racial profiling can cause police to focus on those who “look suspicious” rather than those who “act suspiciously” (2009). Ryberg (2011) also states that focusing on a particular race may lead to higher crime rates in less targeted groups. Racial profiling is clearly not a necessary or relevant practice in apprehending criminals and may even be detrimental by negatively affecting the focus of law enforcement. Through the framework of these principles and evidence provided, it is clear that racial profiling is a practice that has nearly no benefits in the law enforcement process with respects to apprehending drug offenders. However, the harm and costs of racial profiling can be far reaching and has both ethical and legal implications. Tamir (2009) states that racial profiling cause psychological damage in targeted minority groups as well as undermining the legitimacy of the legal system. Furthermore, racial profiling can lead to the abuse of constitutional rights in areas such as illegal search and seizure (2009). Reiman (2011) also points out the fact that racial profiling has the potential to bring about racist attitudes. Ultimately, racial profiling has more negative consequences than positive ones and fails to satisfy various ethical approaches. In terms of utility, racial profiling does not produce the most good and the least harm. It has the potential to violate human rights and it treats people in a discriminatory way. Finally, racial profiling does not best serve the community and is harmful to the psychological and social wellbeing of certain minority races. As Lever (2007) points out, racial profiling cannot be a part of police practice while racism exists in society because it leads to harmful and abusive practices that undermines the individual and certain minority groups. Though racial profiling is generally more harmful than beneficial in our race sensitive society, there are certain conditions where racial profiling can be useful in law enforcement practices. Reimen (2011) points out the fact that racial profiling can be beneficial if statistical evidence shows that certain groups are likely to commit a certain crime. A modern example of this issue is the correlation between terrorism and the Muslim population. Given the events of 9/11, Muslims have been a target for the United States government in the prevention of terrorist attacks. Evidence shows that there is a small correlation between the Muslim religion and the origin of potential terrorists (Tamir, 2009). The statistical correlation would justify the idea of racial profiling since race/religion would be a statistically useful means of apprehending potential terrorists. Furthermore, Tamir (2009) points out that the potential to save lives can outweigh the harm done to the Muslim race in the United States. Ryberg (2011) adds to this argument by stating that racial profiling could lead to more criminals being apprehended in the long run. However, it is debatable whether racial profiling in the War on Terror is more beneficial than harmful to the overall community. This may stem from the inhumane and unconstitutional treatment of Muslims and the effectiveness of such practice of racial profiling. Nevertheless, certain condition and empirical evidence is necessary to justify racial profiling as a beneficial practice in law enforcement. As exemplified by the War on Terror and the War on Drugs, the practice of racial profiling has both beneficial and detrimental effects in the law enforcement process and in consideration of the preservation of human rights. This analysis shows that the importance of the goal and nature of the investigation in determining ethics of racial profiling. In a race sensitive society, it is important to evaluate the benefits and harm of using race in making decisions for a particular goal. Ultimately, the benefits of an action must be greater than the potential and actual harm caused by a certain practice when considering the ethical nature of racial profiling.

Works Cited
Lever, A. (2007). What’s Wrong with Racial Profiling? Another look at the Problem. Criminal Justice Ethics, 20 – 28.
Reiman, J. (2011). Is Racial Profiling Just? Making Criminal Justice Policy in the Original Position. Journal of Ethics, 15, 1 – 19.
Ryberg, J. (2011). Racial Profiling and Criminal Justice. Journal of Ethics, 15, 79 – 88.
Tamir, M. (2009). Racial Profiling: Who is the Executioner and Does He Have a Face? Texas Hispanic Journal of Law and Policy, 15:71, 72 – 90.