Why Is Racial Profiling Wrong

Racial profiling is out of control in the United States! Laws have been passed to ensure the equality of everyone in this country, but yet we are still seeing discrimination and racial profiling. Racial profiling is where government officials make decisions basked on your ethnicity and not your action. Legislation, Bureaucracy and Interest groups make up the Iron triangle; witch makes laws to protect the people from things such as racial profiling.

Racial profiling impacts the lives of African Americans, Asians, Latinos, South Asians, and the Arab communities (Persistence of racial and ethnic profiling in the United States: a follow-up report to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 12). Profiling based on race stems from racism, and has lastingly marked and structured the society of the United States (10). In some aspects, it is considered a violation of human rights; therefore, acts then started to develop (12). For example, the United States introduced the Subsequent End of Racial Profiling Acts to Congress in 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2009, but they

So, for example, it is not racial profiling if the police focus their efforts on high-crime areas, even if the residents of those areas are disproportionately one color or another. It is not racial profiling if the police respond to citizen complaints, say, about drug sales in a neighborhood, even if those neighborhoods turn out, again, to be disproportionately one color or another.It is critically important to analyze that the legitimate, nondiscriminatory police strategies; nonetheless have a disproportionate impact on one group or another not be discouraged. Alas, this bill does that in two ways. First, it mandates data collection by beat cops, which would naturally pressure them to stop (or not stop) people in such a way that they "get their numbers right." Second, it explicitly declares that "a disparate impact on racial, ethnic, or religious minorities shall constitute the evidence of a violation of this title." The End Racial Profiling Act, in other words, literally denies the equal protection of the laws and uses racial profiling within this which has no mark, territory, or in others business in being put in the same

So before I can answer this million dollar question I need to establish what racial profiling is. According to the American Civil Liberties Union it is “when law enforcement and private security target people color for humiliating and often frightening detentions, interrogations, and searches without evidence of criminal activity and based on perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion.” In plain English this means a person is perceived to have committed a crime only because of their race.

According to Scott Johnson, “racial profiling is the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense” (Scott Johnson). The United States Supreme Court has ruled that racial profiling violates the constitutional requirement that all persons should be accorded equal protection of the law. However, is this requirement defensible in public policy? It has been proven in previous research studies that racial profiling, if applied correctly, can be a useful defensible public policy. Studies such as the one conducted by David Harris, who is a law professor at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, show that the racial inequality in arrests made as well as crime rates have been reflective of one sided racial policies.(Harris). Also, Harris stated that, “crime rates are equal among racial groups and arrests, convictions and incarcerations are unequal based on the premise that police, prosecutors and courts systematically pick on minorities due to the color of skin (Harris). For example, the Trayvon Martin case is evident that racial profiling was negatively applied due to stereotyping. Stereotyping is an exaggerated or distorted generalization about an entire category of people that does not acknowledge individual variation. Stereotypes form the basis for prejudice and discrimination. They generally involve members of one group that deny access to opportunities and rewards that are available to that group. This is a fundamental

According to the 11 Facts about Racial Discrimination, “The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a Latino male has a 17% chance, and a white male only has a 6% chance” (11 Facts about Racial Discrimination 1). Racial profiling, or discriminating against a whole group of people based on their race, is an unjust act and a big problem in our society today. Arresting people because of how they look like, or what they believe in is absurd. According to ACLU, “Racial Profiling refers to 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” (ACLU 1). Although law enforcement assumes they are doing their job, they need to remain objective and fair in all situations, because they are violating rights, lacking protection and risking lives.

Racial profiling is a controversial issue because although police use it to prevent crime, the opposing view claims that innocent people are stopped for no logical reason making them feel unequal. In fact, in the article “I was Racially Profiled in My Own Driveway” by Doug Glanville, is an example of why people oppose this, it shows how a police officer stopped and questioned a black man (himself) shoveling his own driveway even when it was out of his own jurisdiction. Little did the police know but the man was Doug Glanville, a retired MLB player, trying to clear out snow. However, not knowing who Glanville was, the police was under the impression that Glanville was out in the neighborhood trying to make money. Nonetheless, as soon as the police officer found out that Glanville was shoveling his own driveway of his household, he paces away. As Glanville clarifies, “After a few minutes, he headed back to his vehicle. He offered no apology, just an empty encouragement to enjoy my shoveling. And he was gone” (Glanville 8). What Glanville is really saying here is that a cop went out of his jurisdiction just to confront Glanville because he is black and was in a wealthy neighborhood. This ultimately ruined Glanville’s day by wiping off his smile since he had been racially profiled as a suspicious suspect to the police. This is a clear example on why people are against the use of

Since the birth of our nation, racial profiling has been an issue longstanding and troubling among minority groups and still continues to exhibit severe consequences in communities.

This paper outlines the studies, incidents, facts and statistics that have found evidence of racial profiling which causes distrust in the law enforcements (police, government etc0. Studies of racial profiling shows that blacks, Hispanics, Middle Eastern and other racial minorities are more likely to be stopped than those who are white. They are more likely to be stopped and searches, traffic stops, license and registration checks. In addition they are more likely to be ticketed or arrested after being stopped and search. Some scholars and studies believes that minorities being that are frequently stopped and searched has nothing to do with them being racially profiled. According to Roh and Robinson,” studies raise the possibility that minorities may be more involved in criminality (Gaines, 2006), some drug crimes (Lichtenberg, 2006), and speeding offenses (Lange, Johnson, & Voas, 2005), thereby justifying higher stop and arrest rates by police of some groups.” (Roh, S., & Robinson, M.)

Racial profiling has been and will continue to be a problem in the United States. Many believe that racial profiling is more prevalent in today’s society; however, this issue has been a part of our society since slavery. Moreover, African American males are mostly the targets of racial profiling, especially in larger cities like New York City and Los Angeles. Racial profiling is becoming a huge problem within the police departments. Police officers are conducting more traffic stops on African Americans males than on any other racial group, for the reason that many police officers believe African Americans males are most likely to be engaged in some sort of criminal activity. Thus, racial

Racial profiling is still an ongoing issue that occurs and such an issue has led to many problems for the minority groups of this country. Whether it be African Americans, Indians, Asians, Mexicans, or Muslims, all have faced profiling at some point in time. The problems caused by this controversial subject include the impending distrust between black communities and law enforcement, unfair treatment towards all minorities by law enforcement, verbal and physical abuse of minorities by police officers which can sometimes lead to death, emotional unstableness of the victims whom have faced such a terrible judgement, and the negative impact it has on children of the minority groups.

Racial profiling happens all over the world and has caused a lot of controversy. Thou-

Racial profiling isn’t something new to today’s society. Most recently there were incidents in which the officers were accused of mistreating blacks such as Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. “Racism versus professionalism: claims and counter-claims about racial profiling” written by Vic Satzewich and William Shaffir discusses racism versus professionalism with officers. Their argument is more biased towards the police force and they argue that it’s part of their job. “

On a legal level, many authorities and people agree that racial profiling is a common and inappropriate issue that needs to be prohibited. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, “racial profiling violates the constitutional requirement that all persons be accorded equal protection of the law” (Lawson, Henderson, and Chanin 2011). On top of that, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that racial profiling is illegal and unjust since it discriminates one group against others (Lawson et al. 2011). The issue receives legislative attention because it is among locals and police - the representatives of authorities that are supposed to protect and serve their people. In a 1999 Gallup Poll, the poll result indicated that 77 percent of African Americans and 56 percent of Caucasians believed that racial profiling was widespread and unacceptable (Lawson et al. 2011). Racial profiling seems to be ubiquitous and has found its way to stay as a problem in the U.S. society. In 2007, a third-year evaluation report sponsored by the City of Cincinnati has, once again, recorded and analyzed one of the most common forms of racial profiling - stops made by

A major issue that has been at the forefront of the topic of race in America is racial profiling. This practice of targeting individuals based on the individual’s race is not new and has been in use for many many years. However it has recently come to national attention with the killing of unarmed black teenagers by police officers. The issue of racial profiling not only highlights the lack of equality in America but the issue of policemen using excessive force when dealing with criminal activity.