INTRODUCTION
As greatly as societies may differ, one cannot deny that they all connect in possessing one factor that is paramount to their stability: The Law. Evidently, one cannot talk about the law without summoning to mind the parties that enforce it. The police, as one may know it nowadays, protect and serve the community from harm and injustice. What happens, however, when said injustice becomes grounds for some policemen’s actions?
One of the oldest topics of unrest concerning equality and justice is race. The recent spike in racially discriminatory actions taken by law enforcement agents in the United States has caused much controversy (Von Drehle 29). For the sake of establishing solid grounds for discussion, it is of utmost importance
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If not, then how can one determine when it is acceptable to use racial profiling, if ever? In other words, how can one benefit from the application of this alleged scientific tool without succumbing to racism and prejudice?
While a number of activists may argue that racial profiling should be banned, specialists suggest that, when used in its proper context, it is an indispensable tool in the hands of trained professionals, and that it indeed serves a specific purpose in aiding law enforcement agencies against all forms of crime.
Works Cited:
Cardin, Conyers Reintroduce Federal Ban on Racial Profiling by Law Enforcement. Lanham: Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc, 2015. ProQuest. Web. 9 Oct. 2015.
Canter, David V., and Laurence J. Alison. Profiling in Policy and Practice. Aldershot: Ashgate, 1999. Print.
Harris, David A. Profiles in Injustice: Why Racial Profiling Cannot Work. New York: New York, 2002. Print.
Jackson, Janet L., and Debra A. Bekerian, eds. Offender Profiling: Theory, Research and Practice. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 1997. Print.
The New Oxford American Dictionary. 3rd ed. N.p.: Oxford UP,
The social outcry that the police, the front-line representatives of government are targeting the minorities is false. There’s no credible evidence that racial profiling exists today, yet the crusade to abolish it threatens a decade’s worth of crime-fighting success. The history for racial profiling dates back to slavery. In 1693, Philadelphia’s court officials gave police legal authority to stop and detain any Negro (freed or slaved) seen wandering around on the streets.
The Whole System Failed Trayvon Martin The American journalist Charles Blow in his scandal article The Whole System Failed Trayvon Martin illuminated such deep problems of current society as the credibility of self-defense, the imperfection of the U.S. criminal justice system, criticism of gun culture, and race relationships. This paper focuses on the Trayvon Martin case and explores the stereotypes that created the motive for the homicide. The Trayvon Martin case caused a substantial public interest in racial profiling. According to Charles Blow’s words: “the system failed him when the neighborhood watchman grafted on stereotypes the moment he saw him, ascribing motive and behavior and intent and criminal history to a boy who was just walking home (n.d.).
Through the personal stories that Miller shared, it’s obvious that racial profiling plays a large role in arrest rates and cycles of incarceration. While the world has made a significant stride in racial injustices in comparison to the country’s past, racism still exists. When, and how, is this going to end? This is an important factor to consider in both aspects of the incarceration system and reentry process, as racial profiling occurs in both. Also, the true cause of guilt is important to consider as many people are falsely accused.
In his essay “Arrested Development: The Conservative Case Against Racial Profiling” published in the New Republic on September 10, 2001, professor James Forman Jr. illustrates his disagreement with racial profiling. Forman Jr. is a professor at Yale Law School. He teaches Constitutional Law and seminars on race and the criminal justice system. In his piece, Forman primary goal is to create understanding about the effectiveness of racial profiling and how this affects the black community especially youths. Forman achieves this by appealing to a liberal audience.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, M. (2012). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: The New Press. Michelle Alexander in her book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" argues that law enforcement officials routinely racially profile minorities to deny them socially, politically, and economically as was accustomed in the Jim Crow era.
One of the problems with racial profiling is that it is ineffective, It can be proven to be ineffective by a statistic in Chicago that shows were racial minorities were searched four times as often, but Whites were found with contraband twice as often (12 Racial Profiling Pros and Cons). Racial profiling is also patently illegal, it violates the U.S Constitution’s core promises of equal protection under law and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures (Racial Profiling). Discriminatory omissions or selective enforcement is mentioned by Macdonald in “The Myth of Racial Profiling” and also by the American Civil Liberties Union and is a problem with law enforcement that dates back to as early as the 1950’s and 60’s when southern sheriffs did nothing about groups like the Ku Klux Klan. A more recent example would be when the local police failed to respond to an African American man’s repeated complaints about property damage and being attacked after moving into a white neighborhood in Maryland, The man was eventually arrested because for shooting his gun while trying to disperse a mob outside his home. Racial profiling also is unethical and can raise racial tensions, it is unethical because it targets specific groups, while this may help narrow down a suspect pool, it also can target people who have committed no crime at all.
Annotated Bibliography: Racial Profiling This is an annotated bibliography researching the reasons for, effects of, and solutions to racial profiling by law enforcement in the United States. I am researching racial profiling and is it justified in law enforcement.
Racial profiling is used in different ways and is a problem that needs to be solved in the United
Racial profiling is a controversial topic in today’s society, it leads to false assumptions without having any facts. People suspect and target people based on a stereotype about their race. Many minorities are targeted by government officials such as police officers just because of their race or ethnicity. Just because a particular person from a particular race did something wrong, everyone from that race is being discriminated against by people from other races. Injustice is all around us and peoples right are being violated.
Racial profiling is a very important issue that individuals in society face every day. This problem occurs in low income or poverty-stricken areas throughout cities and communities across the nation. Hundreds of anecdotal testimonials allege that law enforcement officials at all levels of government are infringing upon the constitutional rights and civil liberties of racial and ethnic minorities through a practice called “racial profiling” (Ward, 2002). So what is racial profiling? According to the National Institute of Justice, racial profiling by law enforcement is commonly defined as a practice that targets people for suspicion of crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin (National Institute of Justice, 2013).
Criminal profiling “is the ability of police officials to come to logical conclusions based upon the totality of circumstances related to indicators or certain criminal activity and/or behavior.” (Scism, 2016) Criminal profiling
Have you ever seen or heard racial/ethnic profiling before? Well the world we live in today where we have technology at the tip of our fingers, it 's hard not to know about news in the world. Since this is a very sensitive topic to almost everyone, I will give you the exact definition of what it means. Racial profiling is the inclusion of racial/ethnic characteristics in determining whether an individual is to commit a type of crime or illegal act. An example would be to assume a Latin American is a drug dealer or a Muslim is a terrorist when in reality these people are innocent.
Racial profiling has become a national issue starting in 2015 (“Racial”). Judging someone for their race has been a problem ever since a minority group has been noticed. Racial profiling has spread over all over the world. Racial profiling has been a problem through the years, if the human race can learn what racial profiling is, advantages of the profiling, and the disadvantages.
Racial Profiling in America Racial profiling is defined as refers to the targeting of particular individuals by law enforcement authorities based not their behavior, but rather their personal characteristics ( The Leadership conference) . This is another mechanism for racial discrimination backed by the law. According to the The Leadership conference, racial discrimination is not solely on race, but based on religion, ethnicity and national origin.
III. Racial profiling is an additional measure for safety and security as it is a mean to prevent crimes (Gross, Livingston, 2002). (Counterargument) Terrorist have managed to surpass security measures before, so this makes racial profiling justifiable, as other tactics have failed, and whatever we can do to prevent terrorism, needs to be done (Murray, 2010, p.23).