Racial Profiling And The Criminal Justice System

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.)

While explaining my research question I will be fully breaking down the research question of The consequences of racial profiling on the relationship between individuals and law enforcement departments. This issue I will be breaking in a couple different topics that will then be provided will a complete analysis of examples of literature that supports my issues I choosed to fully examine. These topics will be presented as, The use of racial profiling as an individual in a civilian society of the relationship between individuals and law enforcement departments

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

Racial profiling in law enforcement is referenced when a law enforcement officer targets an individual for suspicion of a crime. A broader definition of racial profiling in law enforcements is when a law enforcement officer, uses an individual’s race or ethnicity, age , time of the day (usually later in the day), dress code and also location to accuse a person of a crime. In today’s world the term racial profiling can be viewed in various view points, because of people having different opinions on the term, many disagreements occur. Some people believe that specific incidents are not cases of racial profiling and others think otherwise, needless to say an argument occurs.

Racial disparity in the Criminal Justice system has been a issue of discussion in our law enforcement for years. Statistics say the likelihood of imprisonment in a lifetime is 1 in 3 black men, 1 in 6 Latino men and 1 in 17 white men. (Bonczar2003) The search and seizure 4th amendment was passed in 1789 which was supposed to protect all persons of unreasonable searches, etc. In 1944 Gunner Myrdal wrote “it’s part of a policeman’s philosophy that Negro criminals or suspects that show any sign of insubordination should be punished bodily, to keep the negro in his place.” In the late 1960’s early 70’s there were many riot commissions that recommended changes in police practices, especially aggressive stop-and-risk procedures.(Skolnick1969) Racial disparities have been an issue for years, especially in traffic stops. There are a couple different approaches to help reduce or end racial profiling. The ACLU’s 5 part battle plan to end racial profiling (Harris2003), and The Racial Justice Improvement project (ABA2010). Racial profiling is an issue in many aspects of the Criminal Justice system. This paper will mainly be based on traffic stops and in sentencing.

What is racial profiling? 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” (2005). Do not confuse racial profiling with criminal profiling; criminal profiling is usually practiced by police in which they use a group of characteristics that are associated with crime to target individuals (ACLU, 2005). Examples of racial profiling include using ones race to target specific drivers for traffic violations and pedestrians for illegal contraband; another prime example is the targeting of Muslims, Arabs, and South Asians since 9/11 in

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).

Data and statistics also show that minorities are discriminated due to racial profiling. In the essay “The big question about why police pull over so many black drivers”, Kim Soffen provides statistics from other credible sources to show that the police excessively targets African Americans. “The Times analysis found that among the largest police department in each of those four states, black drivers were between 1.5 and 5.2 times more likely to have their cars searched than white drivers” (par. 9). Also, “A 2015 analysis by the Hartford Courant found that black and Hispanic drivers who were stopped were 11 to 41 percent more likely to be ticketed than white offenders, depending on the offense committed” (par. 11). The difference between African Americans and Hispanic to whites is huge because of racial profiling. It shows how much the police discriminates against the minority groups. The police show discrimination when they mostly target African Americans and Hispanics. Police think that minorities are the only people who can commit crimes, but whites are just as capable of committing crimes. Another essay that shows the misjudgment of African Americans is “The secret surveillance of ‘suspicious’ blacks in one of the nation’s poshest neighborhoods” by

For the past few years there has been an ongoing debate surrounding the issue of racial profiling. The act of racial profiling may rest on the assumption that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to commit crimes than any individual of other races or ethnicities. Both David Cole in the article "The Color of Justice" and William in the article "Road Rage" take stance on this issue and argue against it in order to make humanity aware of how erroneous it is to judge people without evidence. Although Cole and William were very successful in matters of showing situations and qualitative information about racial profiling in their articles, both of them fail at some points.

1. What is racial profiling? Provide examples of how law enforcement, government officials and/or ordinary citizens use racial profiling (ie: post 9/11, Arizona cases, arrest records, etc.). How might we remedy profiling?

Racial profiling is when a police officer uses an individual’s race for foundation to question he/she with the expectation of he/she committing a crime. Copious amounts of minority races are prone to this practice that such law enforcement use, such as African Americans, Latinos, and Middle Eastern Americans. Levels of racial profiling are exercised by certain law enforcers. Consequently, there are various factors that

It is hard to say whether racial profiling is ethical or not. Profiling based on gender, race, or ethnicity is just the way our minds work; it’s natural. We create ‘profiles’ of how we expect things to be by quickly recalling our past experiences. We know that not every experience will fit into the profiles we make in our heads- but a lot of them do. Whether we like it or not, racial profiling has a place in today’s society in regards to crime solving and prevention.

Racial profiling is racism and stereotypes by police and others that assume the worst about people based on racially biased perceptions that are projected multiplied, adversely affecting or endangering people of a specific, race, nationality ethnicity, or religion. One of the most glaring

A problem that faces the United States today is racial profiling and the effects it has on the people involved. There are stories from several walks of life on racial profiling, the effects they have, and the steps being taken to prevent them. People a transgender woman, to police departments and even average women on a plane face racial profiling on a regular basis. To change racial profiling, it could take the work of interest groups and government official alike to make the change. People like the lady, Hebshi, deal with profiling from a vast amount of people; to get the changes the wish to see the get special interest groups involved to get legislation changed.