On the other hand some officials believe racial profiling is necessary because it can save people from criminal activity before it begins, sparing injury to anyone. Protectors of profiling do not approve of the racial component of the matter. Defenders believe identifying tendencies of a criminal and being proactive make a decent officer. Even though my viewpoint does not approve of the defenders, the opinion has to be shared and addressed. Much of the perception of profiling really just has to do with the training of the particular officer and where they get their…
Stereotyping and discrimination based simply on a difference in race are two things which are continually discouraged and condemned throughout our legal system, yet are promoted by even the Supreme Court when used by law enforcement in the practice of racial profiling. Police officers nationwide badger pedestrians, make traffic stops, and unjustly search citizens daily sometimes with their only reason being the color of the person 's skin. It is this practice, racial profiling, which encourages law enforcement officials to discriminate against the very citizens they are hired to protect and to be suspicious of all people that might fit the "drug courier" profile. Basically, when applied to the police 's practice or racial profiling, this means that…
Racial Profiling is one of the many areas covered in racial discrimination. It refers to the discriminatory practice, especially by law enforcement officials which targets individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Racial profiling has been and is still an issue today in almost every part of the United States. It is seen in different situations whereby people are treated very unfairly or branded criminals and suspects without any form of evidence It is a type of racial discrimination seen in all places though racial discrimination touches many areas like award of government benefits which is unequally shared as it should ,but at times based on who the person is. For example, I was once a…
Our country was founded on this idea of freedom and how America was this land of opportunity. Time and history tells us it was easier said than done because racism restricted certain groups from achieving that “opportunity”. This social issue still haunts today but manifest not whips and chains but through racial profiling. Racial profiling is unjust, and a poison to the ideas of Democracy because it generalizes a specific group as being criminal and therefore makes the rest society inherit the same perception. In our society today, we have both Blacks and Latinos victimized depending on what neighborhood they are from and economical status. There are laws in place for the purpose of discouraging minorities to feel comfortable within their own skin. Two examples that will be further discussed are the SB 1070 and Stop and Frisk. Racial profiling can have a psychological effect to the targeted ethnicity. If the federal government does not intervene and seek to put an end to these unconstitutional laws, which discriminate against minorities, than we would be abolishing ones civil rights.…
There are several forms of racism. The biggest form of racism is racial profiling. Racial profiling is defined in the dictionary as “the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting of having committed an offense.” Why are there so many controversial issues regarding racial profiling? Why is it more likely for colored folks to get pulled over? Are they getting pulled over for a legit reason or just because? It is said that police are more likely to pull over and frisk colored people that the whites. “Thus, African Americans (and some other minorities) are trapped in what some have labeled the ‘joint frustration’ syndrome: African Americans, who are far more often the victims of crime, are simultaneously the most dependent upon and the…
Although racial profiling is legal, it's is unacceptable and very common in society. Racial profiling is defined as, “discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.” Even though it is said that in America racism is not acceptable, it is practiced on today’s society making it seem acceptable to everyone. As said in the article “Jim Crow Policing” by Bob Herbert, “It is incredible how few of the stops yielded any law enforcement benefit. Contraband, which usually means drugs, was found only in 1.6 percent of the stops of black New Yorkers. For…
“Racial profiling punishes innocent individuals for the past actions of those who look and sound like them.” This statement made by Benjamin Todd Jealous, previously the president and CEO of the NAACP, captures the ideology of those who oppose law enforcement tactics that are solely based on race. While Dan White argues that surveillance based upon crime rates is perfectly acceptable because certain ethnic groups are more likely to commit crimes than others, he fails to address any of the problems associated with profiling. Profiling based on legitimate crime statistics may actually be an effective way to combat crime, however, because the criminal justice system within the United…
Stereotyping and discrimination based simply on a difference in race are two things that are continually discouraged yet continue even today in the most recent of times. Since the wake of September 11, racial profiling in airports has been heavily enforced in order to ensure the safety of Americans. In several instances, the stopping of virtually all Arab or "suspicious" peoples has proved to be advantageous in that those incriminated intended on causing harm to others. Furthermore, airport security has done a superb job in pinpointing the true terrorist, any person of a different race. This twisted view of justice must be recognized and must be stopped. The "random" stopping of people before and after they board a plane not only violates that person's personal rights, but it creates an artificially induced hatred to a particular group of people as well as demonstrates the overall ignorance associated with racism.…
For as long as one can remember, racial profiling has been considers a major issue between enforcement and citizens in general. Racial profiling is the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of an individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Most often when people think about racial profiling, they think of police brutality, which is wrong. The idea of racial profiling should be acceptable as long as no one is being harmed and there is no racism involved. People are convinced that racial profiling is unfair, but moreover everyone is a victim, no mater where you come from.…
Racial Profiling is the act of targeting a person specially based on their race. Racial profiling does not refer to the act of a law enforcement agent pursuing a suspect in which the specific description of the suspect includes race or ethnicity in combination with other identifying factors. One of the largest groups that are racially profiled are of the Arab heritage that live in the United States. This is because of the 2001 Terrorist Attack on the Twin towers in New York City on September 11.…
Racial profiling has been a very heated issue from past few years. Race and location are the dominant characteristics authorities look at when engaging in this type of profiling. The undeniable pattern of race-based stops by police is a dilemma that millions of African-American and Latino-American motorists regularly encounter on this country 's highways. This phenomenon has been sardonically dubbed as "being pulled over for "DWB" (Driving While Black or Brown). This play on words of DWI (Driving While Intoxicated) refers to the commonly employed police practice of using an alleged traffic violation as a pretext to stop any black or Hispanic motorist they suspect of being involved in criminal activity unrelated to driving. These officers have no legal cause for carrying out the stop besides enforcing traffic regulations. Being subjected to a DWB stop is,…
Have you ever racially profiled someone or been racially profiled? Racial profiling happens around us every day, yet we are unaware that it is not created solely by individuals or circumstance. All too often people misunderstand what true racial profiling is. It is not the act of disliking someone based on their race or ethnicity, it is much more than that. It is created by far greater powers but can also be demolished by them. Racial profiling happens to American citizens not just immigrants, is promoted by bad policies; however, these policies can be changed by the iron triangle.…
Since the fall of man, human nature is innately evil, and within the hearts of many, prejudice prevails. This learned characteristic has increasingly developed throughout the course of history and remains an imminent issue today, especially because America has allowed people of foreign nations to become a part of the homeland. As a result of the ongoing debate about racial discrimination in the twenty-first century, the media has dedicated a large portion of coverage to the issue, influencing both sides. Essentially, racial profiling is unlawful because it strikes fear into the lives of a specific race, creates an unprecedented distrust in government officials, and although some claim terrorism is on the decline because of racial profiling, it ultimately does not result in the broad termination of terrorists.…
Racial profiling has become a prominent issue in America. After the incident with Rodney King, more emphasis has been placed on profiling. According to news reports, Rodney King was driving down the street in his hometown of L.A. when several police officers stopped him solely of the color of his skin. There are many conflicting reports that state he was speeding doing about 100 mph before they stopped him. When he was stopped, he was pulled out of the car, the police proceeded to deliver 56 baton blows and six kicks to him. In a period of two minutes, King had 11 skull fractures, brain damage, and kidney damage. A man named George Holliday, standing near the sight videotaped the incident. Several months later, the police officers were cleared of criminal charges in this case. Racially bias policing exist almost everywhere in this country. America, the land of the free, home of the brave. In this nation people assume that they have equal rights, but do they? The declaration states that all men are created equal, but are they? Following the King incident new awareness had been raised. What predisposed issues were there that caused them to stop King at the particular time? There is not much difference between "racial profiling" and "racially biased policing". Racial profiling refers to and is frequently defined as law enforcement activities (e.g., detentions, arrests, searches) that are initiated solely based on race, and was limited to activities in context only of vehicle stops. That in turn ignored the potential abuse of power in the many other activities in which there could possibly be misconduct. Racially biased policing is when an officer uses more than a single factor when conducting biased law enforcement. For example, an officer might make a decision based on the neighborhood and the race of the person, the age of the car and or type of car and the race of the person, or the gender and the race of the person. Activities based on these sample pairs of…
If racial profiling becomes acceptable, it may become more common in areas where it should not. It may also lead to various other crimes such as harassment, not only from civilians but from law enforcement also. Sarah Childress states in her Policing the Police article in 2004 that “national lawmakers plan to introduce a bill in early February requiring police officers to record the driver's race at traffic stops or risk losing federal funds” (Childress). The problem with this is that people tend to get pulled over when there not close to home therefore may be judged for suspicious activities such as going through a neighborhood that doesn’t “suit them”. Also, in high crime areas, Blacks and Hispanics are stopped more frequently than whites whether there driving or walking to the grocery store and are questioned. This may lead to harassment or aggressive behavior because they feel as though the law-enforcement had offended them. David Bruser writes in his Toronto Star (Canada) article that when innocent unsuspicious minorities are stopped and questioned for no apparent reason is when they begin to lash out which then gives the cops a legitimate reason to handle the “problem” that shouldn’t have begun in the first place. It is almost as if the police are instigating bad behavior to…