Racial Profiling In America

According to the 11 Facts about Racial Discrimination, “The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded that an African American male born in 2001 has a 32% chance of going to jail in his lifetime, while a Latino male has a 17% chance, and a white male only has a 6% chance” (11 Facts about Racial Discrimination 1). Racial profiling, or discriminating against a whole group of people based on their race, is an unjust act and a big problem in our society today. Arresting people because of how they look like, or what they believe in is absurd. According to ACLU, “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” (ACLU 1). Although law enforcement assumes they are doing their job, they need to remain objective and fair in all situations, because they are violating rights, lacking protection and risking lives.

In the Justice System there are a lot of flaws that affect many people of color, and from past history, it has shown how these practices can lead to very unfortunate events, one of these practices is racial profiling. Racial profiling is when law enforcement uses race and ethnicity as grounds to determine if someone, typically of color, is guilty of doing something illegal. Racial profiling is a major problem in this country, this as well affects many citizens that are mainly of color because law enforcement usually sees them as targets, and it is important to improve and fixed this issue because there are many tragic incidents that have been caused of racial profiling.

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).

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)

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

The practice of targeting individuals for police investigation based on their race alone in the last few years has been an increasingly prominent issue in American society. Numerous magazines, newspapers, and journals have explored the issue of race-motivated police actions. Recently, the ABA Journal did a study of New Jersey and Pennsylvania traffic stops from 1998 to 2001, concluding that black drivers were more likely to be pulled over and arrested than whites. The study also delves into the legal ramifications of the 1996 United States Supreme Court ruling in the Whren v. United States case, which held that police officers subjective motivation for stopping a motorist on the

Over the last twenty years the issue of racial profiling has become extremely combative with regards to law enforcement practices. A common misconception begins as some people are unaware of what racial profiling actually is. Racial profiling typically deals with incarceration, miss education, and to certain extent slavery. The topic of slavery is relevant in the conversation of racial profiling because like slavery, African Americans have suffered just due their own identity. Profiling is essentially the selection of an individual and categorizing them due to a specific racial group. The ever growing issue of racial profiling has become more evident to the public with the increasing number of instances that have been reported regarding

There are tons of cases of Racial Profiling. Now a days many people are being targeted or attacked by racial profiling. Laws are being passed but not every police officer is following up with it. And because of this more and more people are becoming irritated with the government system. Just because a particular person from a particular race does something wrong, everyone from that race is being discriminated by so-called other races. Racial profiling is getting worst by the years go by, it is becoming a hot topic. Ever since the major attack of September 11, 2001 many people have seen Muslims as terrorists. Racial profiling doesn’t just affect Muslims; it affects African Americans and Hispanics. Due to the action of just one individual, and from that individual affects the whole race behind it. It just doesn’t make that person look bad it makes they’re race look as bad as they do. That is why African American, Hispanics, and Muslims are being targeted. Racial profiling negatively impacts society.

We live in a society that has prospered generously over the years. America has opened its doors for so many different people by establishing itself as a free country. Not only have we progressed in technology and economically but we have created our own identity by becoming a free nation in which every individual has the same rights and eligibility as the other. This is the core of our countries success; we are not a nation unified distinctly by a specific race, religion or culture but by the compulsive efforts of our nation’s laws to uphold freedom in every aspect of a civilian’s life. People are not only allowed but encouraged to practice the religion of their choice, eat the food they desire, speak the language they prefer. There is even freedom in the most minute of things such as being able to listen to the music of your choice, these are the laws that promote diversity and strengthen our nation today. Our nation’s identity and prosperity is built upon multiculturalism and ethnic tolerance. However, this was not always the case it has taken many long and brutal years become the stable and versatile country that we are today. Specifically dating back to when this land was first founded and thereafter we see our nation has struggled with conflicts against politics, discrimination, and public affairs up till this very day.

People aren't angry about just this singular issue. They're frustrated with the repeated injustices and failure for the system to work for people of color.

My major is criminal justice with a minor in business management. As we see every single day, we have a problem in our justice system with racial profiling. Racial profiling is defined as targeting or stopping an individual based on his or her race without suspicion of a crime. On one hand, we have people who are completely against racial profiling. On the other hand, some believe that there is no problem with racial profiling. I am very interested in finding out both sides of this argument. What are the rights and wrongs of racial profiling? I chose Jeffrey Toobin’s (2013) blog post "Rights and Wrongs” from Conde Nast Publications, a magazine article, and compared it to Patricia Y. Warren and Amy Farrell’s (2009) article “The Context of Racial Profiling”. Warren and Farrell’s article was published in the peer-reviewed journal: The

It took ten minutes to convict George Stinney Jr. at age fourteen. It took seventy years after his execution to exonerate him. (Bever) For years, blacks have had to deal with racism left and right. There are numbers that prove how the authorities have continued to use racial profiling against those of black or Hispanic descent. Police around the world have continued to use racial profiling, even when they know it’s not in the training that they have received. Families and friends have experienced losses from the deaths of innocent people who were wrongfully killed by the police. Some people argue that racial profiling is wrong, but others have stated that it would bring us more protection

As a police officer, I have dedicated my life in serving the people and keeping them safe from potentially dangerous criminals. I had just gotten home from duty and turned on the TV. The news was on and they were reporting about the officer that shot and killed Michael Brown. The first thing that I thought was that the media has blown this incident was out of proportion. Brown must have been seen as a threat by the officer to the public to actually be shot. The protesters are calling us cops racist, that we use racial profiling. That is so far from the truth. We take every possible suspect into consideration. We look at their motive, their alibis, etc. to make sure we arrest the right person. What we do not take into consideration is their

September, 11th, 2001, a day which shook the lives of Americans in a way that was unimaginable. A terrorist attack in the middle of the day in a metropolis city was a feeling that many people in America had never experienced. The attack was carried out by terrorists who hijacked 4 planes, then flew 2 planes into the World Trade Centre, another hit the Pentagon and the last plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The feeling of loss, accompanied with sadness as well as anger was enough to trigger all kinds of thoughts into people’s hearts. The death toll of 2,996 people along with the deadliest attack on American soil since Pearl Harbour, devastated the United States forever. Immediately after the attacks, Americans were struggling to live