Racial Profiling : A National Epidemic Of Violent Crime

“If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else” (Malcolm X) is a contestable ideal. Do we Americans allow our law enforcement to continue killing innocent African Americans whose own ancestors contribute to the success of this nation? No! We cannot sit on the sidelines and watch innocent lives ruined over and over again. We must auscultate to the cries of our four fathers. In order to halt the self-destruction of this nation we should fight for change in the police force, attempt to cease the embodiment of racial profiling, and support the efforts of those striving to bring about change.

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.

The National Institute of Justice (“Racial Profiling”) stated that racial profiling, which is a form of discrimination, racism, and stereotypes is when law enforcement, based on a person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion targets a person for suspicion of crimes. Today people can turn on their television, go online, and even listen to their radios and they will hear about racial profiling. Racial profiling is not anything new and has been going on throughout history; it goes all the way back to slavery. Racial profiling has recently started being recorded, which is why it has become such a huge national issue today, because people can no longer ignore it. This issue is not specific to one race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin. People of many races, religions, ethnicities, or national origins have been affected by racial profiling for years since the start of this country, but one group that has been affected by racial profiling at a high rate is African Americans. The goal of this paper is to analyze this main group that has and still is being affected by racial profiling and acknowledge other groups that are being affected as well.

Racial profiling is used by many Americans in the united states. Blacks, whites and mexicans all use racial profiling. Their profiling is much different then you could say is used by police enforcement today. Minorities are high on the list of racial profiling by police in today 's society. This has caused many issues with minorities and police enforcement relations since police use this as a way of controlling crime rates in many cities. With this paper it will be to show and scrutinize every aspect of consequences of racial profiling with police and individuals such as minorities. To be able to explain and probe racial profiling and the issues that coincide with this issue. I will then provide an explanation with background of what racial profiling means. Then providing research that will show the issue of racial profiling with how it will affect the relations between individuals and law enforcement departments.

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.)

The concept of racial profiling has its wide range of definitions. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, racial profiling means “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.” In other words, racial profiling has its assumptions that particular individuals are more likely to be involved in transgression or unlawful activities based on individual’s race or background. Racial profiling does not just exist today; it thrives and mostly propels a brutalizing message and inhuman misconception to citizens of the United States whom they are pre-judged by the color of their skin. The primary cause of profiling is racism or race-related discrimination. Unfortunately, this unwarranted approach is now commonly used by law enforcement officers, even though it could be both unjust and unconstitutional. Not only does it violate the core principles of this country, but it can be dangerous and deadly because it threatens our privacy and security. It is also a threat to racial equality, where many influential and prominent people have fought for to accomplish. Although many heroic activist leaders have ended racial division to its certain extent, yet many African-Americans all over America still face the rigid unequal world because of unjustifiable race-related tragedies that tremendously affects African-Americans.

Racial profiling goes against the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures as well as the Fourteenth Amendment which declares that all citizens are entitled to equal protection of the law, declaring somebody guilty of something no matter how minor or major based on the soul fact of their

In America’s judicial system, the color of skin or race are often equated with criminal behavior. Dr. King once said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” As United States citizens, we are not convicted of a crime until proven guilty. However, racial profiling aids law enforcement on deciding when to pursue or detain a suspect based on race. This method undoubtedly categorizes that certain races are more prone to commit crimes. Nevertheless, racial profiling is a violation of constitutional rights thus protected by federal law; oddly it is often disregarded by states.

"Relations between the police and minority groups are a continuing problem in many multiracial societies. Surveys consistently document racial differences in perceptions of the police, with minorities more likely than whites to harbor negative views." (Weitzer and Tuch, Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct, 2004)

Racial profiling is a controversial issue that still occurs in today’s society. For some time, policemen have used racial profiling to determine those at fault during criminal activity. However, racial profiling must be stopped because it shows ineffectiveness and is embarrassing for the victims. Law enforcement should not be allowed to be discriminative towards a race solely because of their appearance and instincts. Minorities must be protected at all costs in order to have all the American values be fulfilled. Therefore, we need to have more people realize that racial profiling is not an effective system and instead demoralizes people of color. While some believe racial profiling can help stop crime, criminal behavior cannot be determined through the process of racial profiling; therefore, we must gain awareness to help put the end to this major issue.

Racial profiling has been a hot topic recently and has influenced citizen’s perceptions of police. Minorities that been stopped due to racial profiling are more willing to voice their dissatisfaction with the police. Minorities who have not been racially profiled but hear stories about racial profiling may be more skeptical of future experiences with police. Research has found that minorities tend to rate officer legitimacy in a more objective manor when stopped by a minority officer (Tyler, 2005). Minorities that are stopped by White officers tend to be more skeptical of the officer behavior (Tyler, 2005). African Americans are the most skeptical of police behavior and especially believe

Racial profiling, by definition, does not ensure equal protection of the law to all citizens, as minorities are more likely to be searched and viewed as criminals compared to their white counterparts, whom are viewed as law-abiding citizens in comparison. The use of pretextual traffic stops by law enforcement undermines the system's legitimacy. Minorities experience racial profiling every day because of their color of skin and often fall victims to police officers need of meeting a quota. As a result, they endure illegal stop and frisks that have no probable cause basis and have their fourth amendment violated; this was observed “in one of the largest and most sophisticated studies of racial profiling to date, [where] the New York Attorney General’s Office (1999) analyzed more than 181,000 field interrogation cards completed by NYPD officers from 1998 to 1999 and found that although Blacks comprised only 25.6 percent of New York City’s population, they accounted for 50.6 percent of all persons stopped by the NYPD. Hispanics were also overrepresented among persons stopped, while Whites were significantly underrepresented” (Petrocelli 4). Adding on, a 1999 Gallup Poll recorded that more than four out of ten African Americans had been victims of racial profiling by police officers. The increment in African Americans being racially profiled is in part due to the War on Drugs. The war on drugs caused the phenomenon known as “driving while black” which implies that police officers are more likely to stop black motorists and search them for drugs. Having their car searched was a violation of their fourth amendment against unreasonable searches and seizures because police officers had no probable cause in doing so; other than for the color of their skin. Our Founding fathers framed the fourth amendment to protect us from governmental abuse; and therefore,

A survey reviewed a percent of people that trust law officials. The result verifies that the majority of whites trust the police than blacks and hispanics do. Another survey analyzed half of Los Angeles residents agreed that force used by police were necessary but, less than a third of African Americans doubt this. A report of a 19 year old college student proclaims that he is repeatedly asked about his whereabouts and daily activities from the same officer. “Where are you going? Do you have anything you shouldn’t have?” (LAPD Officer). Suspicion arises between the colleague and officer meanwhile, several reports claim that a high percent of ethnic people were being pulled over.

The history of American policing has been tainted by legal authorization of biases, disparate service delivery, and tarnished by the enforcement of racially motivated laws and statutes. Consequently, the present-day relationship between minorities and the police in America is one that has been impacted by the historical legacies of slavery, segregation, and discrimination, all impacting  racism at the societal, institutional, and individual levels. The negative perception of ethnic minorities over the past three decades has spread rapidly, researchers suggest that specific stereotypes are commonly used by police officers to classify people

Officers may prejudge a minority group, believing their members are all criminals or, that certain conduct typifies a particular race or ethnicity. When they come in contact with a member of the minority and make decisions on the basis of their prejudice, such as to always make an arrest or to ignore the conduct because it is “typical” behavior, their decisions are based on their prejudices, and reflect a discriminatory action. The same officers may make decisions using factors other than their prejudices, such as the seriousness of the offense or the absence of probable cause to make an arrest, and these actions would not reflect discrimination. This illustrates the difficulty in evaluating a police officer’s behavior. The same decision either may represent an appropriate use of discretion, or may be the result of overt discrimination.