The Pros And Cons Of Racial Profiling

Abstract

Police in the United States have been using racial profiling for a very long time. The first court case to allow racial profiling was the Supreme Court case of United States v. Martinez-Fuerte. This case allowed police to use race as part of a criterion to stop someone. Another Supreme Court case upheld the use of pretext stops which has been argued to allow police to use race as a reason for the stops. Racial profiling has been a hotly debated topic in the united states. Public opinion on the subject differs largely based on the race of those asked about their opinions on racial profiling. White people tend to think racial profiling is justified and not widespread whereas, black people tend to think that it is not justified and is

While racial profiling has been legalized, there are limitations such as race only being used as one component in a profile. According to the text, Ethical Dilemmas and decisions in Criminal Justice by Joycelyn Pollock, racial profiling is “occurs when a police officer makes a stop based entirely on race or ethnicity.” (Pollock, 2017 p. 152). Racial profiling is a useful tool for police officers when used properly. When used properly racial profiling can result in successful arrests and convictions. Through this paper I will examine the use of racial profiling in the United States and the public opinions on the use of racial profiling in the United States.

Using profiles to identify suspects in crimes have been very useful in catching people who have committed crimes. According to the book, Profiles in Injustice by David A. Harris, a profile is a “set of characteristics—physical, behavioral, or psychological. In criminal profiling, law enforcement personnel use characteristics associated with either a particular crime or group of crimes to develop a profile of someone likely to engage in illicit behavior.” (Harris, 2002 p.

The first thing found during this examination of the public was that the public felt that racial profiling in airports was being used to seek out terrorists (Gabbidon, Higgins, Nelson, 2012 p.262). The study also found that 40 percent of people asked supported racial profiling in airports in contrast to a national poll that found that only 25 percent supported racial profiling in airports (Gabbidon et al., 2012 p.262).

The study in the article also asked whether or not the public felt that the practice of racial profiling in airports was discriminatory. They found that there was a “strong sentiment” that racial profiling in airports was discriminatory (Gabbidon et al., 2012 p.263). Also found during the study was that those who felt that racial profiling in airports was effective would support racial profiling in airports (Gabbidon et al., 2012 p.263). This poll however has some strong restrictions. One of them is that the study was based on the opinions of a small sample of residents in only one state,