Preview

Racial Profiling Term Paper Essay Example

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1602 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Racial Profiling Term Paper Essay Example
Racial profiling is a popular method used by law officers in order to hypothetically enhance crime prevention by targeting minorities, because they are more likely to commit a crime. According to Wikipedia, racial profiling is defined as: the inclusion of race in the profile of a person considered likely to commit a particular crime or type of crime. In other words, it is targeting specific ethnic groups because they are more likely to commit certain crimes. Racial profiling is a flagrant form of racism. According to Dictionary.com, racism is defined as hatred or intolerance of another race or other races. Nevertheless, it shouldn't be confused with stereotyping, because they are two different things even if racial profiling is heavily inspired by racial stereotypes. But why would law officers use such a discriminating approach? Racial profiling, in some cases can lead to police brutality or in extreme cases, murder such as Amadou Diallo's case, who died in february 1999 after he was shot 41 times in front of his Bronx house by for cops, who were later acquitted of all charges.

Racial Profiling has been around for years and quite frankly, I don't see it fading away any time soon because it is practiced in many parts of the world and thus cannot be prevented. Being racially profiled can happen to anyone no matter the race or gender. According to an article called "Chief Moose on Racial Profiling" published in October 2004, Chief Moose, a black officer, once got arrested simply because he was black and gives his opinion about it:" I love this country," he said. "I stayed out of jail, I got a good job, a doctorate degree and leadership positions. Yet still this happens to me because of the color of my skin... It's hard to respond nonviolently and seek legal remedies."
Racial profiling is just one example of how minorities are still victims of unfair treatment under a variety of institutions throughout the world. Here are some arguments that make the claim that

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When we are children, we are taught not to judge a book by its cover, for most of us this is easier said than done. Racial and social profiling is a big issue that affects millions of people throughout the world.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the 1990’s Racial Profiling has become a major issue in our society. There has been an abundance of court cases, killings and protests where people from the Black community feel that they are being harassed, stopped and questioned or arrested, simply for their outward appearance and look. Racial profiling for the most part has been linked to the police and their investigative methods. However racial profiling is not just limited to the police and their methods. Since 9/11 and the Iraq war racial profiling has become apparent in our view and beliefs against the Muslim/Islamic community.…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial profiling has influenced many people across the world; it has been a huge problem which needs to be resolved. The points discussed in this paper basically touch on why racial profiling is unacceptable and how it needs to be sustained. Why minorities shouldn’t have to suffer because of false stereotypes; also shouldn’t have to deal with bias opinions of the law. America is the land of the free also a place where second chances are embraced. There’s points made on how people reacted to racial profiling, and some resolutions. The ultimate goal is to minimize this epidemic in hopes people can start raising more…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Did you know that an appalling, unconstitutional and pernicious attack happens continuously in today’s society against innocent citizens and nobody does anything about it? This practice is called racial profiling. Mr. Bob Herbert, a journalist for the New York Times, discusses this in his article, “Hounding the Innocent”. This article is an insightful and informative. He informs his readers about many actual situations of innocent citizens becoming victims of this cruel practice. Mr. Herbert is correct, racial profiling is unnecessary and hurtful or is sickening and should not even exist. Racial profiling is the practice of using one’s skin color as evidence for grounds of suspicion. How can one say that this practice is fair? Racial profiling should be eliminated; it is insensitive, unconstitutional and has a detrimental effect on society.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the United States of America racial discrimination still exists to this day. Minorities in our country are not seen as equal people. When a person is deprived of their human rights it makes them feel degraded and troubled. In order to become a more civilized country, we must forget the color of our own skin and live with each other as one. In the article “Why Racial Profiling is a Bad Idea” by Tom Head, discusses the way cops pay more attention to those of minority races and how they usually find them guilty of crimes they didn’t commit. Even though many officers will deny their participation in this type of profiling, a lot use this tactic to pull over and arrest Minority races. The article “Racial Profiling Lives On” by Devon Carbado, Cheryl Harris and Kimberle Crenshaw, also displays examples of how racial profiling continues to this day. There are many ways cops can search/arrest African Americans or other Minorities for no reason and still keep from breaking the Fourth Amendment and the authors of “Racial Profiling Lives On” supports there claims with emotional examples that appeal to a pathological type of audience.…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial profiling is a phenomenon which causes people of certain races to be presumed as a criminal - in the light of the law, or simply a worthless person - in the eyes of the society. In her essay "Is Ethnic Profiling Justified Under Threat of Terrorism?", dr. Huma Abbasi makes it clear by giving an example of the mistreatment of the blacks, which has been present in the US since the country was born. From the very beginning of the United States' existence, black people had a hard time living in the New World. As slaves, they were treated as a property, not people, and they were not given any rights. The color of their skin alone and nothing more signified their poor status and low value. Although many years have passed since their long struggle - first against slavery, then against discrimination and segregation - and the blacks finally achieved equality, the prejudice against African Americans is still strongly rooted in American mentality. According to Abbasi, when it comes to criminality, African Americans are most likely to be the suspects just because they have appeared in the wrong place at the wrong time. Abbasi states that "every year, hundreds of innocent African-American motorists are stopped and searched on highways by law enforcement on suspicion of drug or gun possession, an assumption of guilt based…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    First off as stated in an article on Occupytherapy.com, “Racial profiling can help law enforcement find a possible suspect based on racial cues. Statistically certain ethnicities are more likely to commit certain types of crimes.”(Profiling Pros and Cons List) This fact has helped many police officers and investigators to locate the guilty suspect and put them to justice for their crimes. Another pro of racial profiling is that it in a way delivers a sense of belonging to one's own ethnic group. For example as a result of racial profiling African American’s have a sense of understanding of one another's struggle of “being black in America”. Although this fact is sad to say the least, many African Americans can share that when they are around police officers they feel a sense of panic and the urge to “act normal”, no matter what they’re doing, whether it’d be walking their dog or driving to the local convenience store. These pro’s of racial profiling are contradictory because in reality their are no pros to racial…

    • 715 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racial profiling is a very widespread topic. Racial profiling is beginning to spread across the United States and many other countries as if a fire spread in a forest. It is important for us to understand that racial profiling is impractical and hurtful to the persons targeted. It is also important for people to recognize that racial profiling puts fear into people’s hearts and that can have an emotional impact on the way people think, act and even their character. Racial Profiling should be a exercise that should be ended in all places including the court system and law enforcement. One can come up with several illustrations declaring its advantages and disadvantages. Although racial profiling can be useful in certain cases it is incorrect…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Justice is said to be blind, at least that is what the Supreme Court says. But in many instances, it has caused others to think differently. The scale on which justice is weighed has been corrupted from the inside and has caused this great controversial issue to rise. That issue is racial profiling and its implementation in police investigations and court systems. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, racial profiling is defined as the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race alone. It is something that has been used and is continuously used as a crutch for people to get their “so-called” justice they think they deserve. But many of these same people fail to understand that racial profiling is different from criminal profiling. Criminal profiling is defined as a reliance on a group of characteristics that they believe to be associated with a specific crime. Yes race is involved, but it is not the only factor contributed.…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial profiling is most of the time suspected by police officers and there have been many protests regarding this issue. But many people believe it doesn’t even exist anymore. Racial profiling still exists because there is a more significant amount of incarcerated blacks than any other race, Muslims get searched more than any other race at airports, and because One reason why racial profiling still exists is because there is a significant amount of incarcerated blacks than any other race. Blacks are stopped more frequently for minor things, such as a broken taillight, and are more likely to go to jail because of something like this. According to the NAACP, “blacks are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whites”.…

    • 896 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    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…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Drug dealers are mostly Black and Mexican, Muslims are terrorists, and Hispanics are all gang members. These are things you might hear people who use racial profiling say. Racial profiling is used by police and people of authority to narrow down and target specific groups of people. This basically means that if a person is black, they are automatically assumed to be at a higher risk of having drugs then a white person. A police officer would more likely arrest a Muslim than a white person for suspicious behavior. Basically, people are judged unfairly and rights are compromised when racial profiling is used. There is no place for racial profiling in America.…

    • 901 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Racial profiling has been around all around the world and is used by many people to provide safety to other people. Racial profiling is practiced by many police officers or law enforcers to provide safety to the community but they sometimes get carried away and abuse others instead. Racial profiling should be used for the safety of others but it should never be abused.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    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.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the other children dug into their punishment of dirt and sand and stared at the dug pit every day.…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays