Racial Profiling : An American Trauma

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.

Racial profiling remains a dormant issue in the United States. It is the act of the authority, mostly, police officers linking minority status to criminal behaviour (Glover, 2007). Several police officers in the United States target specific groups because they don’t display characteristics of typical Caucasian individuals (Glover, 2007). To put history into context, before 9/11, not many police officers profiled individuals based on their ethnic backgrounds but after the attack, there was an increase in racial profiling (Harris, 2006). A racial profiling method that became prevalent in the 1980s in the United States was administered by the U.S Drug Enforcement Administration. Operation Pipeline was a program that they launched to help police officers catch drug traffickers (Harris, 2006). In a video, they taught police officers to look for clues that would help them recognize criminals. It was noticed that police officers made a majority of stops to people with Hispanic last names (Harris, 2006). Marshall Frank, a former police officer was asked what police officers should do if they saw an African man driving around a white community. Frank responded by stating that the police officers should stop the vehicle and investigate the reason to why he was there even if there was no occurrence of a crime (Harris, 2006).

Racial profiling in law enforcement is not merely wrong, but also ineffective. Race-based assumptions in law enforcement perpetuate negative racial stereotypes that are harmful to our rich and diverse democracy, and materially impair our efforts to maintain a fair and just society. Retrieved November 15 2015 www.usdoj.gov

Ever since the terrorist attacks of September 11 there have been an increase in the willingness to condone law enforcement and security actions based primarily on the color of ones’ skin. Since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it has been the official policy of the United States government to stop, interrogate, and detain individuals without criminal charges on the basis of their national origin, ethnicity and religion. Thus, the term racial profiling was coined. Society, however, has been ignorant to the true meaning of racial profiling and has sometimes misinterpreted the government’s continuous

The fight against racial discrimination in the America has continued, it may be said that the struggle has become particularly difficult in the 21st century. The laws and policies claim that only few forms of discriminations remain, in reality, racial discrimination is still existent in the US, it has continued to hinder the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by many individuals who belong to the minor racial and ethnic groups (Alexander, 2013). According to studies, racism and racial discrimination have deeply and lastingly influenced

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.

In this journal Peter Schuck contends that in the post-9/11 period, and with the issue of unlawful migration ending up increasingly squeezing, it is essential for the nation to have a balanced talk about the utilization of racial profiling. The government may not treat people self-assertively,he contends, it must construct its activity in light of data that is sufficiently solid to legitimize its activity of control over free people.He goes ahead to state, Setting is everything,and when it is utilized appropriately and inside characterized lawful parameters, racial profiling can be a real, valuable instrument of law implementation. The claims are supported by evidence that will definitely have the audience's

Is the current level of profiling individuals based on their race an easier way to identify them, or is it assuming their actions based on their color of skin? Many people contemplate between these two positions; they might be annoyed by the thought of dark complexion citizens that are accused of crimes or behavior but can also find it reasonable when looking for suspects. Racial profiling has always been one of the social issues that are always at the forefront, and many argue in favor or against this issue. Numerous articles have been written that give their argument as to why people should take a stand in favor of or against racial profiling. For example, the article “Racial Profiling and Background Injustice”, “Attitude… of false and derogatory belief about the [racial] group,” while “The Globe and Mail Why Racial Profiling Is A Good Idea”, explains “Racial profiling is both necessary and desirable.” Analyzing the articles of these two groups reveals not only contrasting messages but also quite different rhetorical strategies for delivering them.

The United States' Supreme Court has every now and again made some sort of special cases to the fourth amendment insurances against legislative "preposterous inquiry and seizures". "The law constrains actualities auditing police methods to take a gander at the totality of the circumstances going up against the officer at the time he or she took official investigative activities and not assume subjective ulterior movements." Some individual's racial skin shading is ordinarily the reason behind an officer to stop or draw over some individual, regardless, utilizing articulable behavioral criteria is unavoidably solid policing. This must be explicitly tended to, in getting ready to instructive projects as the various leveled yearning, sustained through vigilant supervision and technique consistence measures. The laws of security continue progressing as consent missions and "terry" stops are two of the more significant police watchfulness used in the midst of investigative stops. Clearly, racial profiling isn't as per usual an awful issue. All through late decades, officer wellbeing has allowed law approvals to stop some individual on an articulable, sensible suspicion that a wrongdoing has been, is being, or is going to happen and can take out his weapons in the occasion that anything. "Studies reveal that nine times out of ten, minorities will most likely be stopped and investigated than whites, however weren't caught any more

“Racial Profiling? We don’t do that here. Now Let’s go get that brown fucker!” “Racial profiling at its core concerns the invidious use of race or ethnicity as a criterion in conducting stops, searches and other law enforcement investigative procedures. It is premised on the erroneous assumption that any particular individual of one race or ethnicity is more likely to engage in misconduct than any particular individual of another race or ethnicity. Racial profiling in law enforcement is not merely wrong, but also ineffective. Race-based assumptions in law enforcement perpetuate negative racial stereotypes that are harmful to our rich and diverse democracy, and materially impair our efforts to maintain a fair and just

Racial profiling is distractive and detrimental to public safety because it poison relations between police.“Racial profiling is a sloppy, lazy substitute for actual policing. It is an abusive practice that targets innocent citizens solely because of the way they look” (Elliot). Today, African Americans are often suspected of committing crimes , which then leads to a problem. Most of the situations end up on the news. Many think of racial profiling as a recent problem that manifested in the 1980s , when news of African Americans being pulled over for “driving while Black” began making headlines. “ In Garner’s case, for example, police targeted him for the petty crime of selling loose cigarettes, the types of crimes black people are targeted

Everyday people are pulled over for speeding, and broken tail lights, but does it become an issue when law enforcement start pulling people over for no reason. Racial Profiling, while sometimes used inappropriately, can sometimes be a good thing because it can help cut down on illegal immigrants, drug trafficking, and help prevent terrorism. Many issues arise regarding legal immigrants and non-legal immigrants in quiet neighborhoods nationwide. Racial profiling has been increasing for many years, from the 1500’s up to present time.

In colorblind America, no one wants to admit that racism still exists and that racial profiling has been part of the criminal justice system for many decades. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) defines racial profiling as 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.” The debate over racial profiling centers on whether it is a legitimate tool of law enforcement? In connection to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, those that agree with racial profiling argue that it is necessary in order to ensure our nation's safety, while the opposing side contends that it violates

The targeting of the citizen who is being pulled over within the United States raises an ethical question concerning racial profiling. Racial profiling, the act of judging a person based on their ethnicity, is illegal, however, “Empirical evidence confirms the existence of racial profiling on America's roadways.” (“The Leadership Conference,” n.d.) Racial profiling has been highly documented and monitored, but this too will take massive reform to overcome.

Racial profiling is a deep national problem in the United States despite the efforts of the civil rights movement. Ethnic minorities are often targeted by society because of their skin color and inaccurate stereotypes placed on them. Police officers use racial profiling to humiliate people of color by conducting ridiculous searches. This is also illegal because the U.S. Constitution protects the citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures. While racial profiling can help prevent crimes, it can perpetuate discrimination against minority groups and cause them to feel fearful of law enforcement; therefore, racial profiling should be stopped by changing the way people view ethnic minorities.