Constant Stereotypes

Racial profiling is a very prevalent issue within the criminal justice system that is quite controversial, but there is a significant number of evidence that shows that racial profiling has been present since the 1600’s and continues to be a significant issue. Racial profiling is evident in the criminal justice system in various ways such as in interrogations, jury selection, misleading statistics, stops, and immigration laws. Racial profiling within interrogations and jury selection can be seen with the Brandley v. Keeshan case. Racial profiling within statistics can be seen in instances where the numbers focus on arrests and incarcerations that do not necessarily mean a crime was committed. Stops are seen as evidence showing racial profiling with a personal experience, and lastly, immigration laws are seen as showing racial profiling by the encounter of a Mexican American women had with an officer in Arizona.

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.)

There are large racial disparities in incarceration and related detainments for African Americans. They are more likely to be under the supervision of the Department of Corrections than any other racial or ethnic group (H.West, Sabol, & Greenman, 2010). Institutional racism is believed to be the reason why African Americans, especially males, are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. On balance, the public believes that discrimination against black people is based on the prejudice of the individual person, correlates to the discrimination built into the nation’s laws and institutions (Pew’s Research Center, 2017). This belief is actually supported through several experimental studies that provide evidence that African Americans are to be seen as more criminal and threatening than others thus more likely to be arrested or even shot (Greenwald, Oakes, & Hoffman, 2003). Racism within the criminal justice system very much exists and is still relevant.

The concern about racial profiling is erupting throughout the nation. Many cities and states have decided to study racial profiling, or how race and ethnicity may play a part in traffic stops by law enforcement in their jurisdictions. There seems to be a generally accepted understanding of what profiling is. Profiling is the law-enforcement practice of scrutinizing certain individuals based on characteristics thought to indicate a likelihood of criminal behavior. Yet there are two variations concerning the application of racial profiling. Profiling either utilizes race as a sole means of directing police attention, or uses race as a part of a larger set of characteristics and behaviors that lead to police involvement (Chan, 2011, pg. 75). Regardless of the definition of racial profiling, the debate over racial profiling centers on two questions. Does racial profiling actually occur? and Is racial profiling being used and is profiling a legitimate tool of law enforcement?

The racial stereotyping of minority groups is a prevalent problem within the United State’s criminal justice system. It is a regrettable issue which permeates American society. The young Black male, in particular, is often portrayed as a criminal based on incorrect assumptions regarding who perpetrates crime. There are several components contributing to the criminal stigma of Blacks. The way crime is conveyed by American culture is possibly as important as how crime actually functions. The widespread belief that Black males commit the majority of crime skews the view society’s perception of Blacks. Typifications of Black males include a violent, threatening, thug-like character. The connection between race and crime is so deeply seeded in

Racial profiling and traffic stops are always a hot debate in our country. Recently, race issues with the police have gotten even hotter with the situations in Ferguson and New York. No matter where a person stands on the issue, the numbers that suggest racial profiling and traffic stops are difficult to justify. Racial profiling is described as the use of race as a key factor in police decisions to stop and interrogate citizens (Weitzer & Tuch, p. 435, 2006). A study was done in Baltimore, Maryland where 533 drivers were stopped on I-95, and more than half of the people stopped were minorities. Likewise, 63% of people that were asked to step out of their

Racial profiling is an example of police brutality, which is defined by Gross and Livingston (2002) as “the practice of some officers of stopping motorists of certain racial or ethnic groups because the officer believe that these groups are more likely than others to commit certain types of crimes” (p.1413). Therefore, individuals are treated unfairly by law enforcement solely based on their race. This type of mistreatment is unmerited and ultimately a violation of an individual’s rights. However, in many instances the courts do not find it a violation of their civil rights based on the fact that racial profiling is difficult to prove. Often, prosecutors are disinclined in bringing forth a case against officers on this particular matter. Officers are permitted to stop and search individuals and their vehicles whenever there is reasonable suspicion, however, there has been studies that prove that some law enforcement officers restrict these rights primarily to minority groups. Bowling and Phillips found that although there was no formal monitoring of use of these powers, it was concluded that it was particularly heavy use of these powers against ethnic minorities, largely of young black people (as cited in Sharp & Atherton, 2007, p. 747) . In several cases, officers argue that they reasonably pulled an individual over for other probable grounds such as: traffic violations, suspicious behavior, etc., with race never being an

Police officers are often viewed as oppressors and unjust by the community, when in reality they are just doing their jobs. The job of a police officer is to apprehend criminals and detect crime, and the maintenance of public order and to the extend and complication of this duty police officers often need to make split second decision that is not often view by the public as what we call “self-defense” which is a right we all have as human beings and stated in the Universal Declaration of

Welch (2007) instituted her article with details of speculations and theories that coincided to the development of Black criminal labels. Now, the Black criminal labels are basically the stereotypes that black people are commonly involve or associate with regarding with crime. She thought it was a plausible concept to understand the images of crime shown by a society. She explicates on racial stereotypes through crime rates, black involvement in crimes, media, and racial hoaxes. For instance, young black males in America are commonly perceived as violent, gang affiliated, and sustain by other labels everywhere. She mentions “talking about crime is talking about race” which has adapted to the publics’ minds throughout a wide range in history (Welch, 2007; Barlow, 1998, p.151). Welch gives an example of a common white stereotype of African Americans as being less controlled, and more prone to crime than whites which adds to the public’s conception of criminality (2007; Higginbotham, 2002, p.147). Through the various factors, like black involvement in crime have contributed to the criminal stereotyping of blacks. Concerning this, Randall Kennedy interpreted how the reputation of Blacks has been “besieged” by beliefs from white people about inclinations beforehand towards criminal activity that could be traced back to when Africans were held in captivity (1997; Welch, 2007). His statement conveyed that African Americans have had this reputation for decades. The real

1 in every 15 African males will be incarcerated, 1 in every 36 hispanic males will be incarcerated, but only 1 out of every 105 white males will be incarcerated. These arrest account for drug trafficking, women trafficking, purloin, breaking traffic law, and homicide. “Law enforcement tactics that concentrated on the inner city drug trade were very visibly filling the jails and prisons with minority drug law offenders, feeding the misperception that most drug users and dealers were black and Latino.” (Harris, 1999). We use this facts to form our own opinion or judgement amongst each race, from African Americans who are well known for having the highest rate of crime compared to the caucasian who far way less for crimes. They use excuses such as they live in the slump or they don’t have a future with their grades so they drop out of highschool, thats why they don’t care about their behavior, but failed to realize if they stayed with their education, they wouldn’t have to live in the hood, the slump, the ghetto, instead they can have a brighter future. In order for the negative opinions to stop, the race must come to a sense of comprehension and change to make their community and race more gallant, than maybe the world will stop the

Racial profiling occurs when law enforcement officials stop someone because of their race. These can be traffic stops, body searches, or full out arrests. While there are cases where the person stopped is guilty of a crime, many times the person is innocent of any wrongdoing. Racial profiling is becoming a large problem in developed countries, and it is contributed to by the rise in xenophobia and islamophobia following the September 11th terrorist attacks. The xenophobic majorities are only encouraged when upset minority groups respond with protests or rioting, which often occur.

Michelle Alexander talks about racial justice and mass incarceration in The New Jim Crow. There is such a high rate of incarceration in the United States. The drug war today is doomed to fail, especially because drugs dealers will replace one another. This war consists of drug related crimes and violence. Suspects of drug wars are racially discriminated by law enforcement officials. Most dealers and users are white. Three out of four of imprisoners for drug offenders are Latino or African American. Police subject the poor and look into ghettos for drugs. In the 1980s, police officers focused on white crack users rather than black, later shifted its attention and gave everyone

In Max Shulman’s, “Love is a Fallacy”, the author conveys various stereotypes and reveals prevalent fallacies in both genders, men and women. Shulman presents an anti-women theme by writing common deceptions based on women’s personality, but also indicates an anti-man presence, as seen throughout the short story. Shulman states, “The successful lawyers I had observed were, almost without exception, married to beautiful, gracious, intelligent women. With one omission, Polly fitted these specifications perfectly” (Shulman 366). The quote seen above exposes the stereotype in which the “perfect” woman is needed to marry highly rated men, such as the lawyers observed by the protagonist.

There are many different perspectives on this situation. The first perspective is that of law enforcement. The police are also afraid for their own lives. In no way am I trying to portray police work as easy or safe, because it is neither. “Police and sheriff’s patrol officers have one of the highest rates of injuries and illnesses of all occupations. They may face physical injury when conflicts with criminals occur, during motor-vehicle pursuits, when exposure to communicable diseases occurs, or through many other high-risk situations” (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Everyone should understand that their goal is to protect us, but naturally their first instinct is to protect themselves. Police are put into potentially dangerous positions on a daily basis; however, this should not create a situation where they are desensitized to treating people with the dignity and respect they deserve as citizens with rights. There is a perception that because the police do not get to know the people in the community, they begin to associate everyone with the people that they are arresting for good reasons, even if they are not criminals. On the other hand there are the groups of people who are most affected. The majority of citizens would agree that the people most affected by this live in lower income neighborhoods where crime and violence are more common. “When researchers controlled for factors such as the level of neighborhood crime, the reported quality of police-citizen

I conceal my face with layers of makeup hoping that half a bottle of BB cream will be enough to make me as flawless as Kylie Jenner look on the cover of Seventeen magazine. I use innumerous acne medications, aspiring to be as unblemished as the girls in the Clean and Clear commercials. I reject bags of M&Ms and fudge brownies thinking that my sacrifices will make me “love my body” as much as the emaciated Victoria Secret models love theirs (see appendix A). I routinely shave my legs and armpits and pluck my eyebrows with fear of becoming the hairy woman the media deems horrendous. I do everything, yet feel like I am nothing. Nothing compared to the beautiful women pictured on television, magazines, and