Persuasive Essay About Racial Profiling

Racial profiling has been in existence for many years. One defines racial profiling as a method law enforcement agencies use to determine whether a person may be a suspect of a criminal act. “Racial profiling and racial discrimination against blacks in criminal justice administration can date back into the late 1600’s.” (Staples 2011) This is when the court officials in Philadelphia authorized the police to take up any “Negro” seen “gadding about” without a pass from his or her master”

There have been many attempts to make racial profiling illegal, but all have failed. Racial profiling is defined as suspecting an individual of a wrongdoing based solely on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin (Racial Profliling: Definition 2). Racism spreads throughout all dimensions of life in American society; therefore, the history of racial profiling is extensive, but it was at an all-time high after the September 11th attacks (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 10). It can be used in both positive and negative aspects, but is mostly used negatively. Racial profiling negatively effects society and the very existence of racial profiling is erroneous, discriminatory, and unjustifiable.

Racial profiling in the dictionary is “the assumption of criminality among ethnic groups: the alleged policy of some police to attribute criminal intentions to members of some ethnic groups and to stop and question them in disproportionate numbers without probable cause (“Racial Profiling”).” In other words racial profiling is making assumptions that certain individuals are more likely to be involved in misconduct or criminal activity based on that individual’s race or ethnicity. Racial profiling propels a brutalizing message to citizens of the United States that they are pre-judged by the color of their skin rather than who they are and this then leads to assumptions of ruthlessness inside the American criminal justice system. With

Racial Profiling is an act of automatically defining or identifying someone based on their ethnicity. This act was most recognized during the late 1800’s in the U.S. under the Jim Crow law. It was passed in order to segregate whites and the colored in America. It fundamentally made whites superior to all. Though, in 1964 the Civil Rights Act passed stating that anybody of any ethnicity or religion are to be equal and united. However, today this law has never been truly accepted when seeing the statistics of the type of people being stopped by the police. In fact, based on the statistics of the people stopped, there is an ethnic disproportion which shows that the police use racial profiling. Even though innocent people are stopped, the

Racial Profiling, it’s been the buzzword of the decade, its being talked about every time the news is on, it’s thrown around high-schools more often than test answers, it’s what George Zimmerman was accused of doing to Trayvon Martin, and it’s what Darren Wilson was accused of doing to Michael Brown. Everyone seems to have an opinion on Racial Profiling these days, some arguing that its morally right or wrong, others that its statistically supported or disproved, and many people argue over both. In a room of fifty people if you ask what they think about it you’ll get fifty different answers. After the recent incidents in New York and Ferguson that have made Racial Profiling the new poster child of every single media outlet, and after hearing so much about it I decided it was time for me to figure out what exactly Racial Profiling is and come up with my own answer to the million dollar question; should Racial Profiling be allowed as a tool of the police in their investigations?

Racial profiling is discrimination, and discrimination is wrong. Discrimination taints the entire criminal justice system. Racial profiling is nothing but public stereotyping. Therese extreme tactics make the justice system look bad in cases which their racial profiling was incorrect. It publicly puts all races in once category, bad or good. Discrimination has being going on for years and years in history. African Americans are one group of people who have worked so hard not to be discriminated against, and with racial profiling they are constantly being brought back down to the Jim Crow Era. When will it ever stop?

Over the last twenty years the issue of racial profiling has become extremely combative with regards to law enforcement practices. A common misconception begins as some people are unaware of what racial profiling actually is. Racial profiling typically deals with incarceration, miss education, and to certain extent slavery. The topic of slavery is relevant in the conversation of racial profiling because like slavery, African Americans have suffered just due their own identity. Profiling is essentially the selection of an individual and categorizing them due to a specific racial group. The ever growing issue of racial profiling has become more evident to the public with the increasing number of instances that have been reported regarding

Racial profiling has been a recurring issue for quite a while in the history of America and it appears as if it will proceed the same. Many individuals do not know what racial profiling stands for and sometimes victims of racial profiling aren’t even aware of the meaning. Racial profiling is often identified as the use of race by any law pursuing organization to any extent, as a reason for unlawful conjecture in non-specific inspections. Every person is entitled to basic human freedoms and rights, which are undermined when discrimination based on religion, nationality, ethnicity, race, or other particular status occurs. It is unlawful to discriminate against citizens regardless of their race according to the United States Constitution, Civil Rights Act of 1964.

Racial profiling has been a touchy subject for United States citizens. Racial profiling has been around for quite some time in America and it more than often benefits the majority population (white America). More recently, the controversial topic has been brought to light. The debate over Racial Profiling topic is whether or not racial profiling is wrong or right. Multiple opinions from notable sources have been debating over this topic for decades. Some sources give reasons and examples in order to debunk the idea that racial profiling is necessary for police officers to do their jobs, as well as for normal citizens to form an opinion of fellow United States citizens and immigrants. While other sources give reasons to support racial

Have you ever walked into a fairly, busy gas station, felt one of the cashiers suddenly lift his eyes off of his newspaper and watched only your every move? He’s probably racial profiling. Have you ever saw someone walk into the gas station who looked as if they were ready to rob the place? You’re probably racial profiling. Racial profiling has been an issue for many years; since slavery till present day. Racial profiling is when someone, not just the law enforcement, judges an individual by their race or ethnicity for suspicion of crime. Some believe that racial profiling is an issue that needs to be solved immediately and some believe racial profiling can be an essential in life. Those who believe that racial profiling needs to be stopped, believe that racial profiling causes chaos and a division between people. Those who believe that racial profiling is a necessity, believe that racial profiling can be a useful tool to keep the streets safe.

Many People think of racial profiling as relatively recent phenomena that manifested in the 1980s, as the news of Blacks being pulled over for “driving while black” began making national headlines. Racial Profiling is a new term for action against black people that, dates back 300 years and is a not relatively recent manifestation of discriminatory conduct by police and the criminal justice system which dates back to the 1700s in the United States for people of African descent.

Racial profiling has existed for quite some time, since the times when slavery was illegal. In the American “melting pot”, racism has become more than just a black and white issue. In

Racial Profiling is unconstitutional and illegal, yet it’s still used in law enforcement. The practice of racial profiling, as defined by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 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 2005). Racial profiling causes more harm than good, it can cause emotional, mental and more often physical harm to the person being subjected to the practice. According to the Fourth and Fourteenth amendments, racial profiling is unconstitutional. It causes distrust in law enforcement because ethnic

Racial profiling has become a severe obstacle in the U.S. today though most Americans know very little of this vital issue. Every day, people are being pulled over, harassed, and even killed for being of a certain race. There are new laws that politicians are trying to pass that promote racial discrimination. Racial profiling is immoral and does not increase public safety.

While racial profiling is used to solve many crimes, using race as a description of the criminal being pursued does not constitute discrimination. “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.”1 Identifying and defining racial profiling simply on the basis of race can raise several issues. Using this definition solely based on race fails to mention when police act on the basis of race along with a violation. For example an officer who targets African Americans who were jaywalking would not be considered to be racial profiling because the people that were stopped were jaywalking and happened to be African Americans.