Effects of Racial Profiling in the United States
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Effects of Racial Profiling in the United States The fight against racial discrimination in the America has continued, it may be said that the struggle has become particularly difficult in the 21st century. The laws and policies claim that only few forms of discriminations remain, in reality, racial discrimination is still existent in the US, it has continued to hinder the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by many individuals who belong to the minor racial and ethnic groups (Alexander, 2013). According to studies, racism and racial discrimination have deeply and lastingly influenced
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Some policies and practices seem to be race neutral. However, they disproportionately limit the rights and freedoms of the minority, especially people of color. Challenging and establishing the discriminatory nature of these policies and practices is very difficult, creating awareness on the same in the public and among policymakers is also hard. Racial profiling by law enforcement, and the associated criminalization of the people of color is a good example of the said practices. Regardless of the overwhelming prove of the existence of racial profiling, often supported by reliable official data, it still continues to be widespread and a terrible form of discrimination in America. The two major sides of the political divide in the US (republican and democratic) have acknowledged that racial profiling is not only …show more content…
The experience of racial profiling by colored victims confirms or reaffirms the popular belief within the minority groups that the criminal justice system in the United States is racially biased (Amnesty International, 2004). Many individuals from the minority groups, especially black Americans, consider themselves targets of police officers; the history of the United States provides a big list of reasons explaining why these individuals would feel this. According to studies, racial profiling makes the individuals from the minority and the majority groups perceive the criminal justice system as being unjust. In addition, individuals who fall victim to racial profiling experience anxiety, fear, anger, humiliation, cynicism and resentment when they ate unfairly treated as criminal suspects (Amnesty International, 2004). The feeling of apprehension and separation resounds deep in the African American community; these feeling originate from the decades of hostile interactions between blacks and law enforcement. The practice of racial profiling is a societal problem; it affects both individual victims and effective
Crime should be punished regardless of whether black, white or Hispanic committed. However, police profiling is not about punishing a certain individual for a certain crime that is being investigated. Thus, some officers make the crime to be by minority through unreasonably targeting them with unfair searches based on their color of their skin. Police profiling and how the police treat suspects should not be mixed up. An instance of harassment or abuse by a police officer based on race is racism, and should not be characterized as police profiling.
Racial profiling affects those in Knott C. county by making people live in fear. Not just Knott C. county , but also throughout the nation. Doubting those kids that grew up in a poverty neighborhood of even making it out alive. Also even doubting them that they will have a future if they do make it out alive. They wake up not knowing if they will actually be who they dream of being one day which “every shot they shoot , they shoot for their dreams” says Coach Rhodes. Not just that , but being racially profiled for how they look , act , live and mostly for who they show to be , not knowing where they really come from.
One may consider how racial profiling began. The term was initially instituted in the 1970's while rebuffing medication traffickers. In 1985, the Drug Enforcement Organization made a system called Operation Pipeline. This system was constituted of cops who were prepared in a particular way to target people who drove in specific ranges in light of their age and race. The well known racial profiling case White versus Williams speaks to this reason, where minority drivers were ceased along the New Jersey Road. Therefore, the American Common Freedoms Union of New Jersey had a noteworthy triumph in its lawful endeavors to end racial profiling when the court declined to reject a case that state authorities acted with conscious lack of interest to
Tensions between police and communities of color have been happening since 1704 in South Carolina. Racial profiling is unconstitutional and harmful to human beings and today's society people can approve that racial profiling persists. Racial profiling is often encouraged to police officers when they either find a street-level crime, counterterrorism or even immigration law. Police cultures inculcate a sense of rights to authority over the rest of society. Due to their culture, certain officers are the ones that can set an image to the society so that people can follow them and understand they are doing the right thing, but it is a disturbing matter knowing that police officers does racial profiling.
In communities where there are heavy percentages of racial and ethnic minorities, racial profiling can cause a gap between them and law enforcement departments. Communities and officers work better together if they are in a positive relationship. However, when the two parties are at odds with each other due to racial profiling, it diminishes the ability to find criminals and probe crimes and also minimizes belief in these agencies (Head). What racial profiling specifically does is cause a central problem to minority communities: trust. When there is trust between people, organizations, or other groups, there develops the power to cooperate and actually move forward. In a simple racial profiling case, an officer arrests an African American male
Police brutality and racial profiling have become one of the most common topics of discussion in the United States today. Both of these things have had a huge impact on the African American population’s everyday lifestyle. There have been many controversial examples of this in just the past two years. Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Michael Brown and Walter Scott, were all killed during an encounter with a caucasian police officer. Was there a valid reason for the police encounter? Was the victim holding/carrying a weapon? Was the police officer threatened verbally or physically?
As much as we don’t want to admit it, racial profiling from police has been going on in America ever since the early political policing era in the mid 1800’s. With racial disparity within the criminal justice system, I would be approaching how blacks and Latinos are targeted and approached in a more aggressive manner than that of a white American. I would also be approaching how Latinos and blacks are more likely to be frisk and stopped by police for no valid reason, besides racial profiling. Also those police not having probable cause and physically harms individuals. Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be stopped and frisk at a higher rate than other races. Latinos and blacks are approached while walking in their own neighborhoods, also
Imagine that you’ve recently moved into a new town due to accepting a promotion for a new job. You’re excited for the next step in your career and the opportunities it will bring for you and your family. You’ve left home early to arrive to work on time when suddenly a cop pulls behind you, siren blaring and its florescent red and blue lights flashing. You slowly pull to the side after quickly checking your speedometer wondering what you could have done wrong. After turning off the car you pull out your license and registration and roll down your window as the officer approaches your driver’s side door. The officer directs his attention from the inspecting the outside of the car to you and asks if you’re new in town. After your response of yes
Racial profiling is a tool used to target a certain group, majority blacks, by pulling him/her over for reasons other than what the traffic stop should be or not. To the average person who does not experience this will view as a non-issue or not a big deal. But having an experience as a victim of racial profiling can leave a psychological scar for many years, depending on the severity of the traffic stop. The statistics show that these incidents are not random, but shows a systematic pattern of law enforcement misconduct rather it’s coming from the individual officer or the police department, it’s clear that racial profiling has a disparate and degrading impact on blacks. Driving while black (DWB) demonstrates, reflects, and exacerbates important issues we face today when talking or debating problems within that involves the police, criminal justice, the courts and the law.
One of the most important civil rights facing our nation today is racial profiling. The main source of those accused of racial profiling are police officers. In the eyes of citizens, racial profiling by a police officer can be defined as “any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity or national origin rather than 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, 2000). For instance, concerning traffic stops, the use of racial profiling can be defined as when the race or ethnicity of a person is a
What is racial profiling? The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) 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” (2005). Do not confuse racial profiling with criminal profiling; criminal profiling is usually practiced by police in which they use a group of characteristics that are associated with crime to target individuals (ACLU, 2005). Examples of racial profiling include using ones race to target specific drivers for traffic violations and pedestrians for illegal contraband; another prime example is the targeting of Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians since 9/11 in regards to minor immigrant violations without any connection to the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon (ACLU, 2005). Without a doubt, racial profiling occurs on a daily basis all over the world; however let’s focus on racial profiling in the United States and specifically right here in our homeland, Michigan. Background & History
Racial profiling has come to represent one of the latest challenges toward law enforcement agencies in the United States. In America, unfortunately, racial profiling occurs. For instance, NYPD officers stopped about 87 percent of the public that were either black or Latino (Geller, 2014). In addition, approximately the same percentage was not guilty of a crime. In the study by the American Journal of Public Health, young men who encounter numerous police contact or aggressive stops by the police reported that they had more trauma and anxiety symptoms than among young men who had less of these encounters with the police (Geller, 2014). This means that less aggressive invasive tactics are necessary for suspect in order to reduce the possibility
Racial profiling is a very important issue that individuals in society face every day. This problem occurs in low income or poverty-stricken areas throughout cities and communities across the nation. Hundreds of anecdotal testimonials allege that law enforcement officials at all levels of government are infringing upon the constitutional rights and civil liberties of racial and ethnic minorities through a practice called “racial profiling (Ward, 2002). So what is racial profiling? According to the National Institute of Justice, racial profiling by law enforcement is commonly defined as a practice that targets people for suspicion of crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin (National Institute of Justice, 2013). The
People love to categorize everything in the world. From organizing socks to classifying species. Therefore, racial profiling exists. Racial profiling is a growing problem in the United States of America. Minorities are being discriminated and put into racial categories by society. In addition, people of color are being looked down upon by privileged whites. Furthermore, whites are discriminating a diverse society by stereotyping and being racist to different cultures that makes the United States of America the freest country in the world. For example, in the article Jim Crow Policing by Bob Herbert it states, “These encounters with the police are degrading and often frightening, and the real number of people harassed is undoubtedly higher than
The existence of racial profiling is one of the most pressing issues facing the contemporary society of America. Historically, law enforcement has a heritage of racially motivated legislation - from slave codes, black codes, to other oppressive practices targeted at the populations of minorities. The present-day relationship between minorities and the police has been consequently influenced by such historical trends of discrimination. Recent events reflect the policing strategy of racial profiling where minorities have been mistreated and discriminated against, leading to a relapse towards social inequality once again.