Racial And Ethnic Profiling In The United States

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.

The issue of racial profiling in America is one of great importance to the future of American society. This issue is not new to our society; racism and stereotyping are issues that date back to many years ago. Racial profiling in America is on that needs to be addressed by the government and society if we ever want America to truly be, The Land of The Free.

One of the most prominent deficiencies of racial profiling is the fact that the officers who participate in these faceoffs and shootings are almost always acquitted of the charges brought against them. Jasmine Elliott states that, “Racial profiling diverts officers ' attention from using actual, objective signs of suspicious behavior to effectively assess situations” in her article Racial Profiling Is Ineffective, Distracting, and Detrimental to Public Safety. Using an overgeneralized category to find a perpetrator is ultimately distracting law enforcement from possible catching signs of suspicious activity from a different target. There has even been one specific instance observed where police officers abused their authority to check the immigration status of a group of men of Ecuadorian ethnicity. The case was called “Maldonodo vs. Holder” (Groff 88) and recently went before the U.S. Court of Appeals. The court ruled in favor of the officers, which left open the window for suppression through racial profiling. “The Second Circuit in Maldonado ignored its own precedent and its decision could lead to an increase in unconstitutional racial profiling and targeting” (Groff 125). Cases like Maldonado vs Holder keep the idea of racial profiling as a means for justice alive within today’s society.

Racial profiling dates back to as earlier as the 1700s. It was during this time, that many African Americans were used as slaves, and those African Americans who were free were required to carry registry papers to claim they were indeed free. Though they were free, those African Americans were still racially profiled in Southern states. Some of the southern states even sent out special slave patrols that would hunt for what they believed to be escaped slaves. Members of these groups, if they found free African Americans accused them of being runaway slaves (Gale Opposing). After the Civil War, laws such as segregation laws, and Jim Crow laws were created to form more separation. These laws kept blacks and whites separate in public places such as restrooms, churches, public transportation, restaurants, and schools (Gale Opposing). Laws today for racial profiling may have changed, but attitudes toward it have not. We find that years later racial profiling continues, and many people are suspected of committing crimes for little more than the color of their skin. Police today use more racially driven practices to try and accuse many of crimes (Gale Opposing). Practices such as "Stop and Frisk" have proven to be more hurtful than useful, with data supporting that this practice has no proven practical use these actions are seen as a serious act of unfair racial scrutiny and are of no use in society today.

Recently, there has been an epidemic in which minorities are being racially profiled on a daily basis. Individuals are being arrested, pulled over, and gunned down, simply because of the color of their skin. People cannot even walk down the street without someone thinking that they look suspicious. Whether the person is African American, Hispanic, Indian, or Muslim, racial profiling is wrong. With all of the recent controversy surrounding the problem, one would think that it would occur much less but that is not the case. Racial profiling has caused a recent uproar in America, and it has become the reason why many people have turned their backs on law enforcement for good.

The topic of racial profiling is very prominent in our American society. I witness accounts of it every day, whether it is while going through an airport, reading about crime, and it’s heavily influenced within the world of politics. Racial profiling is a way for law enforcement to target certain individuals that are suspected of committing a crime. This involves race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, etc. The act of racial profiling allows law enforcement to alienate certain communities, which, in turn creates racial divides and demonstrates a “militarization” of the police. Not only that, racial profiling is heavily influenced within American society through politics and the use of media.

The most controversial issue related to law enforcement profiling is racial profiling. “Some law enforcement officers have created their own profiles based solely on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the behavior of an individual” (Levinthal, 2012 pg. 123). For decades racial profiling has been a biased issue incorporated by a government system that discriminate on people who look a certain way or have been classified as a suspect. One would think individuals and agencies responsible for enforcing laws supposed to maintain public order and public safety. Instead to an extent individuals who think they are privileged and above the law have taken it upon themselves to target people for suspicion of crime by creating a profile

Back in 2000, the New York City council held a series of meetings in the Bronx after the shooting of Amandou Diallo. Their goal was to address as well as repair the relationships between police officers and city residents. However the first meeting did not go as the suspected, over two hundred of the attendees accused police officers of mistreating African-Americans. One after another shared their humiliating encounters with the police. This all occurred almost sixteen years ago, and the most upsetting part is that not a thing has changed. These actions have only alienated communities from law enforcement. Racial profiling is patently illegal and violates the U.S. Constitutions core promises of equal protection under the law.

Racial profiling has a strong history in these United States. First, what is racial profiling? Basically, racial profiling is an assumption about something solely based on a person’s race. It may also be a filter through one’s eye. For example, when a police officer decides to only stop African Americans, he is racially profiling; if he decides to exclude all African Americans from any stops he conducts, he is also racially profiling. Racial profiling is a form of discrimination people generally associate with law enforcement. In recent times, allegations of racial profiling have been rampant in the United States, having mainly the African American community as the target. Lately, though, Hispanics have also been the alleged target of racial profiling. Regardless, we can all be victims of racial profiling regardless of our race, and there have been laws written to prevent the profiling, but is it enough?

Though it seems that racism is an issue that was dealt with back in the 1950’s, with the likes of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, etc., the issue lives on indefinitely. The issue remains due to the fact that crimes affiliated with certain races in recent times. These include the cartel drug deals in Mexico along with the infamous 9/11 world trade center attacks. Events like these have led to police brutality on these individuals solely based on the ethnicity they possess. Racial profiling can be said to be synonymous with stereotypes. In fact, as Gross states, “In 1999, 81 percent of surveyors in a national poll agreed that racial profiling was an issue in the United States. “From Samuel R. Gross, “Racial Profiling Under Attack”, (June 2002): 1413. However, there is no end in sight, 16 years later, and the United States is still the same.

Even though police officers say they couldn't do their job without racial profiling, there are much more effective ways to do their job without it. This is observed in a study over nearly all traffic stops in Missouri in 2014, black drivers were 75% more likely to be stopped and searched than white drivers, although white drivers were more likely to be in possession of illegal drugs and weapons, both of these studies were performed by the state of Missouri's state annual statistic analysis of nearly all traffic stops in Missouri. Also, Missouri’s Attorney General Chris Koster and his office has also stated that in Missouri for the past 15 straight years African Americans and Latinos have been disproportionately stopped even though white drivers were more likely to have illicit items so this is no new

People who grew up/growing up in our generation do not realize how long racial profiling have been around. Racial profiling has been around for as long as the U.S. Criminal Justice System has been around. With that being said, racial profiling has been around for centuries and still is existing. Nothing was really done to figure out this problem, but

Just recently in the news, a seventh grade Muslim student brought a homemade clock to school for a science project. When he gave the clock to the teacher, she immediately called the police and had him arrested. This is one example of racial profiling. If Americans understood the prejudices of minorities, less stereotyping would occur.

Racial profiling has always been a problem in America. ‘i never experience racism the way i have in america, say one cuban immigrant my mother knew name Rosalinda. Racial profiling is one of the worst things about living in this great country called America”It’s like the fine print in America. Just cause he’s muslim doesn't mean he want to blow up the plane,just cause he’s black and wearing a hoodie doesn't mean he’s going to rob a store,or cause she’s speaks spanish doesn't mean she's an immigrant.The use of race or ethnicity as grounds for thinking someone committed an offense, that the official definition for racial profiling

Racial profiling is when someone’s race is used by law enforcement to assume criminal suspicions (Spagnoli, Filip). Law enforcement has used racial profiling to “help” prevent criminal activity. For instance, a survey done by the department of justice when officers focused more on African-American and Latino drivers they found that less of them had drugs the when they least focused on white drivers (The Truth About Racial Profiling: FIVE FACTS). Some officers assume that Hispanics and African-Americans are carrying around illegal substances and weapons. This is not always true! As the survey revealed, most of the people who did have prohibited items were white Americans. Law enforcement should begin stopping drivers by suspicion not by their race. In another survey done by Ian Ayres and Jonathan Borowsky they had found very similar information. “We also found that, once people were stopped, officers were more likely to frisk, search, or arrest African-Americans and Latinos than whites…when these frisks and searches are substantially less likely to uncover weapons, drugs, or other types of contraband” (Borowsky, Ayres). Officers are spending more time on race than focusing on real criminals who are ousting the reasons why this country is remarkable. Other cases like these have been confirmed as well. “Relative to stopped whites, stopped blacks is 127% more likely and