The Pros And Cons Of Racial Profiling

823 Words4 Pages

License of registration please. Hearing this statement I think of a person getting pulled over by a police. But not just any person. A black person to be exact. Now the question is, why did that black person get pulled over? Is it because it was a random check? Did he commit an actual traffic offense? Did he violate the speed limit? The most common term used when a cop is committing the form of misconduct is,” you looked suspicious”. Most would say the police was just doing their job. But I call this racism. Did you know that 42.7% African Canadian males reported being stopped by police in the past two years, compared to 22.1% of whites and Asians combined? Racial profiling is a form of discrimination that can be done by anyone, whether it’s …show more content…

Racialized individuals are at a higher risk than Whites of being searched, assaulted and even shot following a stop. Being white ensures many advantages. For example, as stated in the book “The Colour of Justice”, written by David M. Tanovich, 65% of identified Black drug dealers in Toronto high schools reported being arrested compared to only 35% percent of White high school drug dealers. Once arrested, Blacks are more likely to face the reality of not being released by the police, or on bail, and eventually being sentenced to jail. Where is the equality in this? Why is it that just because I am darker skin, I have less of chance of being released out of jail? Mind you, I’m innocent but no one believes me, but why not? Racial profiling is a violation to anyone’s rights in this society. Racial profiling is illegal, it violates the constitution’s pledge of equal protection under the law to everyone and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Yet, everyone gets away with it. Police, store clerks, people on the street and more. Police are believed to protect and serve however they are demolishing minorities’ ability to trust that we are safe wherever we go. We need stronger guidelines against racial profiling at all levels, locally and