Racial Profiling Or Ineffective?

In 1994 Polly Klaas was kidnapped from a slumber party at her home in California and later murdered by Richard Allen Davis who already had 2 prior convictions for kidnapping on his record. The public was outraged that a repeat offender was able to attack again. Politicians catered to this outrage and sold the public on a bill that would repeat offenders off the streets for good with the three strikes and you’re out legislation.

In the year of 2015, more than 102 unarmed African American people were slaughtered by police officers, making it nearly twice every week. Trayvon Martin was the first people to influence the Black Lives Matter Movement creating a guide to end police brutality regarding African Americans. Although some people believe the Black Lives Matter Movement was successful because of their huge exposure, it was not successful because many unarmed African Americans who were murdered did not receive justice, prejudice people towards Blacks are still stereotyping, and there is still police brutality.

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.

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)

In order to understand racial profiling, it must first be correctly defined. Although different authors use different criteria for the term racial profiling, Merriam-Webster’s definition for the word racial is “of, relating to, or based on a race (Merriam-Webster, 2006; p.855).” The definition the dictionary puts forth for profiling is “the act of suspecting or targeting a person solely on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior (Merriam-Webster, 2006; p.830).” Based on these definitions, racial profiling could be defined for criminal justice purposes as targeting a person based solely on the characteristic of race. Most people, law enforcement officers included, would consider racial profiling based on this definition as

In today’s world we deal with multiple cases of racial profiling seemingly on a daily basis. Turn on the television, check the internet, or simply have a discussion with someone and you’ll hear about it. "Racial Profiling" describes discriminatory practices by law enforcement officials who target people for suspicion of crime based on their ethnicity, race, origin, or religion. The term first came about during the War on Drugs in the 1970’s and 1980’s when law enforcement were accused of pulling over motorists simply because of their race, then unlawfully searching their vehicles for illegal substances. There are varying opinions about this topic and as the year’s progress, it seems acts of racism, labeling, and profiling increase. Many of the instances of racial profiling that occur today involve criminal justice.

One of the most discussed about issues in our society today is profiling based on race or ethnicity. But what is racial profiling and why is it so important? Racial profiling occurs when law enforcement agents impermissibly use race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin in deciding who to investigate for different crimes and offenses. It is being used unjustifiably wrongly in our culture daily. Based on the status of racial profiling currently, it seems as if racial profiling will always be a part of our society and there is nothing people can do to change that. With people making assumptions based on unjust rules, it seems like there will be no end in sight for racial profiling. Law enforcement should be held accountable for their actions, mistakes, and unjustified assumptions. Many instances occur with police officers taking wrongful actions solely based on race or nationality. Police and their practices have been going on for many years with the same outcomes repeating consecutively. A real- life instance of this includes police subjecting people to police brutality just because they are a “person of color” or even a “person of interest.” This has sparked protests and movements such as “Black Lives Matter” or “Hands Up Don’t Shoot.” Many people who have fallen victim to racial profiling and were wrongly accused and lost their lives as a result. Some of these people include, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Oscar Grant, with the list continuing on. Trayvon Martin was shot and killed at seventeen years old for “looking suspicious.” Mike brown was shot six times for supposedly running away from a police officer. Eric Garner was put in a chokehold and subdued by a police officer for selling cigarettes illegally. Oscar Grant was already placed in handcuffs and lying flat on the floor when he was shot by a police officer that only served five years in prison. With countless others’ lives lost the list going on and on, it appears that racial profiling and bias have impacted affected a wide group of people and their families who have also suffered from this widespread issue. Overall, racial profiling is a big issue that might not be possible to correct

Racial Profiling can be described as an individual being suspected of a crime solely on the grounds of their race or ethnicity. Racial Profiling goes against the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, and takes away an individual rights. Racial profiling is wrong and ineffective. It affects both the community and it misshapes the democracy of our country. Racial profiling is caused by stereotyping certain minority groups. Racial profiling targets innocent people who are wrongfully accused because of stereotyping, while those who have commited the crime may face no consequnces because of inadequate searches. Victims who sufer from racial profiling have their rights stripped, causing them to question their freedom in a democratic country. Racial profiling has affected many people of colour in Canada. Rangings from African Americans to muslims and people of Arab decent and even Canada’s very own aboriginal people. Racial profiling in its lowest form tends to cause overpolicing or under policing of certain communities. Racial Profiling has been a serious issue in Canada for years. Racial profiling not only lead to imprisonment, it can sometimes even lead to death all because of stereotyping. This paper will discuss, what are the effects of racial profiling within minorities? How this leads to crime?

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.

Many people get treated badly because of how they look. This may cause a lot of problems to people because it may not give a chance to a smart guy from a particular place to get to what he wants, because of his race. However, racial profiling does not stop only at education, it also may put an innocent man in jail because of where he come from or how he looks. It is very shocking to know that 80% of American were against racial profiling in 1999, but after what happened in September 11, another study shows that 60% of nation started to approve the racial profiling for some specific nation in the name of the safety (Newman, Brown. 359). That huge change percentage between the years were stabled and built on one personal action which does not

According to the poll, blacks rated among the highest of all groups that believed that racial profiling was widespread with the exception of one area that involved airport security. Yet, was the least likely all three categories to believe that the profiling was justified, with Hispanics the second highest. The chart was challenging for me to wrap my head around, because blacks ranked the highest that believed racial profiling was widespread, but the least likely to believe that it was justified. Ironically, according to the research that conducted a growing number of experts and scholars agree that a large sum of the racial disparities among the races are contributed to the unconscious associations (stereotypes) that people makes about racial

A serious civil rights issue is racial profiling. Racial profiling is the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense or crime. The reason I will talk about this topic is because this is happening to a lot of African Americans as well as Muslim, Latinos, and others. Because of racial profiling, innocent citizens are being killed, put in prison, and discriminated against.

The above narrative is just a mere glimpse of the hurt, anger, and pain in the black community after George Zimmerman was acquitted of charges of second degree murder against seventeen year old Trayvon Martin. These emotions were the stepping stones of a highly significant movement, the Black Lives Matter movement. The Black Lives Matter movement is a response as well as a stance against police brutality against African Americans, which uses the tragic deaths of teenagers Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown as a head for its cause. Many people on social media know the black lives matter movement or refer to it #blacklivesmatter, especially on twitter. The Black Lives Matter movement was founded by Patrisse Cullers, Opal Tometi, and Alicia Garza. Which is defined as an “ideological and political intervention in a world where black lives are systematically and intentionally targeted for demise. It is an affirmation of Black folks contributions to this society, our humanity, and our resilience in the face of deadly oppression.”

George Wahee African American Psychology 11/15/17 Professor Russell Implications of Black Lives Matter The Black Lives Matter movement has been propelled to the forefront of this country for the past 5 years or so due to the reoccurring killings of unarmed Black people by the hands of police. The movement was started by Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi. The acquittal of George Zimmerman who Murdered an unarmed 16-year-old Trayvon Martin on the night of February 26, 2012 pushed the project take off because change had to come. Black Lives Matter is a project that builds power in the Black community and targets the injustices that the Black community goes through at the hands of the police and law enforcement.