Police: Racial Profiling in America
POLICE: RACIAL PROFILING IN AMERICA
Naomi D. Hopkins
Stevens-Henager College
APP 101
9 February 2013
Abstract
This paper will discuss the relationship between Fear and how it relates to Racial Profiling in Police Practices. We will also discuss and illustrate real life examples under which Racial Profiling has occurred and how it is scientifically defined. The communication between peace officers and ordinary everyday citizens will also be examined.
Police: Racial Profiling in America
The issue of Racial Profiling in America by our Police Force is an undeniable truth and tragedy. Steve Holbert and Lisa Rose in their book the color of Guilt & Innocence recount a story of a Caucasian woman who is forced to walk alone with her young daughter down dark unfamiliar San Francisco streets at night in the dark. We’ll call this woman Lisa. She had just exited a train car with her young daughter and was walking down the dark streets unsure of her surroundings when she noticed that a stranger man, whose features she couldn’t make out, was following her and her daughter. Lisa had heard and seen reports about a young man in his mid-20s that was dark complected and had been robbing tourists. She felt her body tighten as she began breathing rapidly and she had quickened her pace pulling her daughter along without realizing it, until her daughter started pulling her in the opposite direction because she had dropped her candy cane that she had gotten from the cable car employee earlier that evening. “After her experience in the city, she began to question whether the irrational fear of monsters conjured up in the mind of a four year old was so different from the “monsters in the closet” we perceive as adults, the only difference being that the “monsters” we see as adults have a face and the face is of those who are different or those whose skin color is darker than our own. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). This begs the question, “Did she fear this man because it was
Naomi D. Hopkins
Stevens-Henager College
APP 101
9 February 2013
Abstract
This paper will discuss the relationship between Fear and how it relates to Racial Profiling in Police Practices. We will also discuss and illustrate real life examples under which Racial Profiling has occurred and how it is scientifically defined. The communication between peace officers and ordinary everyday citizens will also be examined.
Police: Racial Profiling in America
The issue of Racial Profiling in America by our Police Force is an undeniable truth and tragedy. Steve Holbert and Lisa Rose in their book the color of Guilt & Innocence recount a story of a Caucasian woman who is forced to walk alone with her young daughter down dark unfamiliar San Francisco streets at night in the dark. We’ll call this woman Lisa. She had just exited a train car with her young daughter and was walking down the dark streets unsure of her surroundings when she noticed that a stranger man, whose features she couldn’t make out, was following her and her daughter. Lisa had heard and seen reports about a young man in his mid-20s that was dark complected and had been robbing tourists. She felt her body tighten as she began breathing rapidly and she had quickened her pace pulling her daughter along without realizing it, until her daughter started pulling her in the opposite direction because she had dropped her candy cane that she had gotten from the cable car employee earlier that evening. “After her experience in the city, she began to question whether the irrational fear of monsters conjured up in the mind of a four year old was so different from the “monsters in the closet” we perceive as adults, the only difference being that the “monsters” we see as adults have a face and the face is of those who are different or those whose skin color is darker than our own. (Holbert, S; Rose, L 2004). This begs the question, “Did she fear this man because it was
References: Holbert, S; Rose, L (2004) the color of GUILT & INNOCENCE RACIAL PROFILING AND POLICE PRACTICES IN AMERICA King Jr., Martin Luther (1963) “Letter from Birmingham Jail” April 16, 1963 Retrieved from www.history1900sabout.com/od/martinlutherkingjr/a/mlkquotes.htm