The Dangers of Racial Profiling

Racism has been a big problem in the U.S. for all races for a very long time and continues to be a problem to this day,. Racism has been a big part in U.S. history and has changed over time, some of these races were African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans, for American Indians it was how they were treated wrong socially and economically.

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)

Racial profiling is a very prevalent issue within the criminal justice system that is quite controversial, but there is a significant number of evidence that shows that racial profiling has been present since the 1600’s and continues to be a significant issue. Racial profiling is evident in the criminal justice system in various ways such as in interrogations, jury selection, misleading statistics, stops, and immigration laws. Racial profiling within interrogations and jury selection can be seen with the Brandley v. Keeshan case. Racial profiling within statistics can be seen in instances where the numbers focus on arrests and incarcerations that do not necessarily mean a crime was committed. Stops are seen as evidence showing racial profiling with a personal experience, and lastly, immigration laws are seen as showing racial profiling by the encounter of a Mexican American women had with an officer in Arizona.

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

Have you ever been racially profiled while driving, shopping or while just walking in a particular neighborhood? Personally I have never been a victim of racial profiling, but I will be 16-years old this summer and able to drive to school, to a friends house or to shop at the mall. I realize that it is a possibility that I could be racially profiled at some point. There have been recent incidents that made racial profiling a very controversial issue. On February 26, 2012 in Sanford, Florida, Trayvon Martin, an unarmed, 17-year old African-American high school student walked through a gated community and was fatally shot after an altercation. Trayvon Martin’s parents strongly believed he was racially profiled, as stated in a news article

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.

Since the birth of our nation, racial profiling has been an issue longstanding and troubling among minority groups and still continues to exhibit severe consequences in communities.

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

Even tho segregation was ended in 1964 it still exists today. Instead of being called segregation it's called racial profiling. Racial profiling is suspecting or targeting a person of a certain race, culture, and ethnicity. Three reasons why racial profiling still exists in America are there are many people who are living in fears of cultural stereotypes, profiling black people, and it's not only happening outside it's also happening in an educational place like schools.

Post 9/11, racial profiling exhibited by law enforcement not only to my race but other minorities in America has been unacceptable and can be rectified by establishing better and more efficient security procedures in airports that are not tied to or based upon race. The significance of national security is of great importance as we, members of a civilized society, are in an age where our peace is being threatened. This most directly impacts all Americans, but, specifically, harms minority groups due to inherently racially profiling individuals based on appearance. As an American, I along with my peers, am aware of the threat of terrorism in today’s era. Being a minority in America allows for a unique and credible point of view on this topic. This proposal is directed at ignorant or misinformed Americans and unintentionally aimed at law enforcement and airport security; hoping in response Americans would become more open minded and airports become more secure.

Although racial profiling has many negative effects on society as a whole, many would argue that racial profiling is an important aspect of policing. According to Sunil Dutta who is an LAPD lieutenant he cites “We have to acknowledge that there is a place for race and ethnicity in police work.” Dutta goes on to explain that it is important to take ethnicity into account as it can aide in locating a possible suspect. Dutta further explains that officers are trained to use all the data available to them in apprehending criminals and in addition when officers follow leads and stop people, they do use profiling, but it is profiling based on all actionable intelligence, which includes race as one of many criteria. Dutta adds that policing is dangerous work and all factors have to be taken in to account (Dutta, 2010). Alexis Artwhol, a former police psychologist and consultant to the International Law Enforcement Educators and Trainers Association, agrees with Duttal. She argues that in a cop’s world it’s killed or be killed. Artwhol who co-wrote, Deadly world encounters: what a cop needs to know, suggests that a police officer’s duties are extremely dangerous and police officers have a great responsibility in protecting the public. Artwhol contends that 25 years ago an officer rarely drew his or her weapon. According to Artwhol, in recent times officers draw their weapons once per month or twice per week. She attributes this to street gangs and drug proliferation in low income, minority communities. Artwhol adds “the police go to where crimes happen more often.” Artwhol compares police work to defensive driving by adding, “We should go out there and expect something bad will happen and watch for it,” she said. “If we are not paying attention, we could die” (Artwhol, p.25). In other words, police officers are in a constant state of defensiveness because they are trained to believe that something bad will happen. Although, Artwhol does not directly discuss racial profiling, she contends that race is an important factor in the apprehending a suspect and needs to be considered.

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.