The Cause Of Racial Profiling By Police

In the Ferguson, Missouri case involving a white police officer (Darren Wilson) shooting an unarmed African American teenager (Michael Brown), the worldwide media immediately claimed that the officer shot Michael Brown for no reason besides the color of his skin. Many rumors and assumptions spread like wildfire after white police officer Darren Wilson was found innocent by a judge of having purpose to shoot Brown.

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.

Racial profiling in the dictionary is “the assumption of criminality among ethnic groups: the alleged policy of some police to attribute criminal intentions to members of some ethnic groups and to stop and question them in disproportionate numbers without probable cause (“Racial Profiling”).” In other words racial profiling is making assumptions that certain individuals are more likely to be involved in misconduct or criminal activity based on that individual’s race or ethnicity. Racial profiling propels a brutalizing message to citizens of the United States that they are pre-judged by the color of their skin rather than who they are and this then leads to assumptions of ruthlessness inside the American criminal justice system. With

Racial injustice against people of colour is an immense, ongoing issue that has not only targeted lives but has also taken many innocent lives. In America, these racial divisions date back to the days of slavery, where black people were denied of their basic human rights because of discrimination. In present day, some individuals view America as a post-racial environment, due to such victories as electing a black president; but the brutal, fatal and unjust events in Ferguson, Missouri prove that these divisions are still present. On August 9th, 2014, an unarmed, 18 year old black teen was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The events that led to the death of Michael Brown occurred on an early morning where Mr. Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend after leaving a convenience store. An altercation occurred which prompted Mr. Brown to flee and officer Wilson to begin shooting. The death of Mr. Brown caused the city to stand up against police brutality through peaceful protest, looting, and even violence, to gain justice for Mr. Brown and his family. As the protests grew, the police used military tactics such as, tear gas, to “maintain order” during the unrest of the city. In recent, news the grand jury decided that Officer Darren Wilson was not responsible for the death of Michael Brown, which led to a larger public outrage not only in America, but also across the

“In 2005, a study analyzing data accumulated statewide in Texas reveals disproportionate traffic ceases and searches of African Americans and Hispanics, even though law enforcement authorities were more liable to find contraband on Whites.” (The Reality of Racial Profiling) The utilization of personal characteristics or comportment patterns to make generalizations about a person is called racial profiling. Throughout time, the utilization of race by law enforcement agencies in their policing activities has received considerable attention across the nation. The 4th amendment right that one has as an American, which is protecting against unreasonable search and seizure, is becoming contravened; one reason for the way one looks. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that racial profiling violates the constitutional requirement that all persons be accorded equal protection of the law, but it is still occurring in our society. Racial Profiling has caused the violation of our rights whether it maybe from a terry stop that was originated for the case Terry vs. Ohio, stop and frisk, racial vehicle stops, and the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act also known as Arizona SB 1070.

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.

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.

Many blame police officers for crime and criticize how they deal with it. In the article, “You Have the Right to Remain a Target of Racial Profiling,” Robinson argues that blacks and Latinos are often stopped for no legitimate reason, “...the counterintuitive fact that while blacks are much more likely than whites to be arrested in a traffic stop, they are also more likely to be released with no enforcement action, not even a warning. This looks to me like powerful evidence that racial profiling is alive and well. It suggests there was no good reason to stop those people” (Robinson). However, because of the racial gap in crimes committed, police officers often let minorities off with a warning “in the hope of improving their reputation” (Chapman). Police officers are accused of racial profiling for letting minorities go after a stop; however, if less minorities were let go after a stop, it can be assumed that people would still be upset. We should not blame police officers for the amount of black and Latinos who are stopped and frisked; it is simply a fact that “the average black driver is statistically more likely to be a criminal than the average white driver” (Chapman), which is shown through evidence from The Federal Bureau of

I hope these words and this moment of truth can serve as some extra motivation to you… That is a quote(tweet) by Kanye West. That tweet serves for what I mean I hope these truths I serve as motivation for this issue to be resolved and that issue is racial profiling and how it shouldn’t be implied in law enforcement or security.

Racism and racial stereotypes have existed throughout human history. The radical belief associated by thinking the skin color, language, or a person’s nationality is the reason that someone is one way or another has become extremely detrimental to society. Throughout human existence it has sparked tension between groups of people and ultimately influenced wars and even caused slavery. Racism in America dates back to when Native Americans were often attacked, relocated, and assimilated into European culture. Since then, racism within the states has grown to include various other cultures as well. In the essays by Brent Staples, Bharati Mukherjee, and Manuel Munoz, they discuss the various causes as well as the effects that racial stereotyping can place on a victim and the stigma it leaves behind for the society to witness.

Racial profiling is when someone’s race is used by law enforcement to assume criminal suspicions (Spagnoli, Filip). Law enforcement has used racial profiling to “help” prevent criminal activity. For instance, a survey done by the department of justice when officers focused more on African-American and Latino drivers they found that less of them had drugs the when they least focused on white drivers (The Truth About Racial Profiling: FIVE FACTS). Some officers assume that Hispanics and African-Americans are carrying around illegal substances and weapons. This is not always true! As the survey revealed, most of the people who did have prohibited items were white Americans. Law enforcement should begin stopping drivers by suspicion not by their race. In another survey done by Ian Ayres and Jonathan Borowsky they had found very similar information. “We also found that, once people were stopped, officers were more likely to frisk, search, or arrest African-Americans and Latinos than whites…when these frisks and searches are substantially less likely to uncover weapons, drugs, or other types of contraband” (Borowsky, Ayres). Officers are spending more time on race than focusing on real criminals who are ousting the reasons why this country is remarkable. Other cases like these have been confirmed as well. “Relative to stopped whites, stopped blacks is 127% more likely and

The shooting of African American teenager Michael Brown by white officer Darren Wilson has been a hot topic of debate. Those in support of Michael Brown believe that Darren Wilson racially profiled Brown and that the shooting would have never occurred had Brown been white. Those in support of Darren Wilson state that he acted in self-defense. This argument has more evidence supporting it than the argument that Brown was racially profiled.

Do you think police officers need body cams and dashboard cams on them?If not, Imagine you're walking to the store by yourself.A disturbance happened in the store,so the police was called.The police asks you questions and you get quite smart and rude with them.They ask you for some identification to identify who you are,and you reach in your pockets to get them.The next thing you know the gun be will drown out and they will shoot you most likely kill you and guess what there is no evidence because its your word against there's and most likely they will believe them because there is no proof saying that they shot you.Now do you think they need cameras on them at all times.Cause others may think differently.

Benjamin Todd Jealous once said, “Racial profiling punishes innocent individuals for the past actions of those who look and sound like them. It misdirects crucial resources and undercuts the trust needed between law enforcement and the communities they serve.”(Jealous, 2015). I couldn’t agree more with him. In today’s society more and more Black men and women suffer from police bias. Police is a powerful organization that was meant to serve and protect. Enforce laws and keeping communities safe. The problem is we fail to acknowledge that police are humans with real life bias. The problem with police is how much racial profiling is going up,

The United States has lived through generations of racism and racial profiling. Racism is the belief that different races have distinctive cultural characteristics determined by hereditary factors, and that this grants same races with a significant superiority over others. After the days of the Black civil rights movement with MLK Jr., and the years of protesting to have equality in our country. The American people were left with a false notion that they had passed the days of being discriminated on based on their skin colors and they were able to walk down the street, enter a building, and get an equal opportunity as anyone else. Whether people think that we live in a racist free society, minorities today are chained to the thoughts of