Racial Profiling Pros And Cons

The saying do not judge a book by its cover is easier said then done. In todays world, it seems skin color makes a person more likely to be targeted as a suspect and more likely to be searched and arrested. Racial profiling is any police or private security practice in which a person is treated as a suspect because of his or her race, ethnicity, nationality, or religion (Dunn, 2016). Racial profiling is something that affects millions of people in the United States alone and has become a controversial topic in todays society especially after the occurrence of September 11. The concern about racial profiling is erupting throughout the nation with some claiming that the use of racial profiling in law enforcement is unconstitutional because

In a number of instances racial profiling is often considered unconstitutional since this treatment can disregard citizens rights. As well as, it is immoral to treat a person with suspicion based solely on the color of their skin. Law enforcement agencies today are facing several problems with regard to racial profiling. One such problem is that the public will begin to view the police as the enemy, especially in major minority communities. Minorities will have little or no trust in the police, which is enhanced due to racial profiling. As a result minorities will refuse to cooperate in any criminal investigation with the police. In the courtroom, it causes jurors of all races and ethnicities to doubt the testimony of police officers when they serve as witnesses, which, in turn, makes criminal cases more difficult to win (Harris, 1999, June). Also, racial profiling is unethical to use in law enforcement. Racial profiling does narrow down a suspect to a particular group, but law enforcement will assault every person that fits the suspect’s description and these are innocent people who have not even

The main reason why racial profiling is a good thing is because it keeps law enforcement aware of people and their surroundings. TSA ,which is airport security, uses racial profiling all the time on the job to protect people who are boarding planes and so people do not bring weapons or bombs on the plane. If TSA did not use racial profiling there could have been more terrorism incidents like 9/11. Also, racial profiling can narrow down suspects based on racial cues. Certain races and ethnicities are more likely to commit certain types of crimes. For example, white people usually commit sexual crimes while African Americans usually commit robbery. Racial profiling helps law enforcement narrow down suspects to one race, ethnicity, or religion. Racial profiling also saves money when law enforcement is looking for a specific criminals since knowing what type of person fits the profile of the criminal they are looking for can save resources and it will be a faster way of closing cases (Occupytheory, 2015, February