Everyone hears about the controversial events that happen between the NYPD targeting African Americans. Every few months there seems to be another shooting, another protest. Your men are here to protect and serve New York City but now the NYPD is looking like the bad guys. In order to have peace in the city, the racial profiling needs to stop. This memo is to inform you on the discrimination happenings that occur against African Americans, which take place right the New York City’s streets. This letter also contains evidence and ways to stop the racial profiling among the NYPD and African Americans.
Misuse of Power
Abusing power is becoming a hot topic for NYPD nowadays. There has been a lot of talk over police misusing their authority over the people and minorities. There has been many incidents that take place where cops use excessive force in situations where it is not needed. It is hard to prove a lot of times where cops go overboard because of lack of witnesses but sometimes it is caught on camera. Social media has brought attention to the public and making police brutality aware for everyone to realize. It is becoming a bigger problem and people already think the government is to controlling and unfair. Now the police force is becoming an enemy and many fear them because they want to feel safe and protected by them but certain scenarios bring out the worst in some police officers. Recently a rookie police officer in the NYPD was just indicted for shooting an unarmed
One major problem with the Justice System is that law enforcement use racial profiling affecting many people of color on a daily basis. Racial profiling is when law enforcement believe that certain groups are more likely to commit a crime rather than other groups. This is a major problem because in many cases there are very tragic incidents and as NAACP stated, “ Mr. Garner’s tragic death shows that for communities of color, including women and LGBT people of color, immigrants and low income communities, racial profiling has been and continues to be a constant reality of life, often with tragic and deadly consequences,” (45) Explains how racial profiling has become an everyday basis to minorities affecting them in many ways and unfortunately ends with death occasionally. Racial profiling is a huge dilemma
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.)
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 is simply, “the unlawful police practice of using race, color, or ethnic background, as the reason for conducting a traffic stop on an individual.” (Michigan Civil Rights Commission) This definition can be extended to any kind of discrimination mainly based on myths and stereotypes towards a certain race or ethnicity. However, the term racial profiling is commonly used when a police officer or any other law enforcer stops, questions, searches or arrests an individual purely on the basis of their race. African Americans or simply blacks have been the major racial group that has suffered much of racial profiling. Much of this is based on the stereotypes against the blacks are perceived as more likely to engage in criminal activities. For instance, in a 2013 Racial Profiling Data from Ferguson Police Department, out of 5384 police stops, 4632 were against blacks. (Ferguson Police Dept. 1) Despite the low population of blacks in U.S. compared to other races, the former continues being subjected to more racial profiling. Racial profiling against African Americans continues to expose the blacks to humiliation and racial injustices, as this paper will expose, thereby calling for the responsible authorities to address and find solutions for the problem.
One of the most imminent threats looming within American society is race relations. America is a melting pot of different races, cultures, and religions, yet the matter of racial profiling still remains prominent today. By definition it is considered “an activity carried out by enforcers of the law wherein they investigate or stop any individual in traffic or round up people of the same race or ethnicity for crime suspicion” (NYLN.org ). This profiling has become a significant catalyst in the tension that has been ensuing between minorities and the government. Hostility has grown due to the apparent and intentional targeting of “brown people”, and
What makes America? Is it the freedoms granted to any American citizen? Is it the way the founding fathers fought for their own freedom against Britain? Is it instead the racial history behind this nation? America, since its origins has been a country of immigrants and for immigrants, yet since its origins, there has been discriminatory laws against blacks, Latinos, Asians, and every other race that is not considered white or Caucasian. Has this country that has been based upon racial profiling, that has fought wars as one nation (and even against themselves at one point), and has triumphed through the Civil Rights movement finally succumbed to justice or is racial profiling just as prominent today? Racial profiling still exists in America because ____________________, ___________________, and _____________________. (3 reasons stated in thesis)
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.
According to the National Institute of Justice, racial profiling 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. Any definition of racial profiling must include, in addition to racially or ethnically discriminatory acts, discriminatory omissions on the part of law enforcement as well. For example, during the eras of lynching in the South in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and the civil rights movement in the 1950 's and 1960 's, southern sheriffs sat idly by while racists like the Ku Klux Klan terrorized African Americans. A recent example would be the complaint by an African American man
The topic racial profiling is an ongoing debate that is currently being argued in America. Before being able to help understand the faults of racial profiling, one must know what it is. According to the National Institute of Justice, racial profiling in law enforcement “is commonly defined as a practice that targets people for suspicion of crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin” (“Racial Profiling”). Racial brutality tends to be an outcome of most racial profiling cases. Racial profiling will usually be most casually seen in traffic stops. Not only does racial profiling make police officers hypocrites for not protecting, and causing distress to, the society they sworn to abide to, but it also makes them breach the constitution of the United States of America. Racial profiling is an unethical, biased, and unconstitutional practice in law enforcement.
Some people wonder what is racial profiling. Racial profiling deals with miss-education, slavery, and incarceration. Since the beginning of slavery African Americans have suffered due to their identity. Racial profiling deals with selecting a person for their complaint of a specific racial group. The main reason in advocating racial profiling in the background of criminal study can enlarge the possibility of arresting criminals. Paul Bou-Habib stated, “If the rate at which members of a specific racial group commits a crime is higher than that of other criminals will be caught if the police concentrate their efforts on investigating members of the racial group in question?” (2011, p.34). It is injustice, when police officers, political officials, and judges have learned how to automatically have a racist attitude towards blacks. For example, my friend was in McDonald’s parking lot and he was in the process of switching seats with his friend because he was exhausted of driving. While leaving the parking lot, the officer had pulled them over because he seen a black guy get out of his car and thought something seemed suspicious. The officer implied that my friend did not use his right turning signal. The term “driving while black has been used to describe the practice of law enforcement officials to stop African-American drivers without probable cause” (Weatherspoon, 2004).
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.
What comes to your mind when you think of an interaction an authoritative figure (police, teacher, principal)? In the African American community it is usually fear and anxiety of the motive of the authoritative figure, especially if you are a male. The intersection of race and gender for the African American male provides a basis for premature judgment by many authoritative figures in their lives. African American males deserve the same equality to succeed in life as any other human being without the threat of the damned if you do, damned if you don’t moniker that defines the functional ability
People love to categorize everything in the world. From organizing socks to classifying species. Therefore, racial profiling exists. Racial profiling is a growing problem in the United States of America. Minorities are being discriminated and put into racial categories by society. In addition, people of color are being looked down upon by privileged whites. Furthermore, whites are discriminating a diverse society by stereotyping and being racist to different cultures that makes the United States of America the freest country in the world. For example, in the article Jim Crow Policing by Bob Herbert it states, “These encounters with the police are degrading and often frightening, and the real number of people harassed is undoubtedly higher than
When it comes to the African American community in the United States, the identifying term Nigger is one that has many meanings, but no matter the meaning, its use is usually met with controversy (The Racial Slur Database Nigger). Kaffir is a South African identifying term that also refers to those of African descent, and of a darker skin tone, and is filled with the same social controversy (The Racial Slur Database Kaffir). Two articles found on the internet, one from Florida and one from South Africa, bring to light when these terms have been used in a derogatory manner and their use has resulted in the loss of someone’s job. From yesterday to today, the terms Nigger and Kaffir are harmful slurs that need to be fixed though the coming together of society.
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.