Racial Profiling
Racial Profiling
Prof. James Wright/CRJS420
By Viktoria Gavre
American InterContinental University
June 20, 2013
Racial Profiling
Introduction
On April 19, 1995, around 9 a.m. a yellow Ryder Rental truck pulled up into a parking area outside the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. Two minutes later all hell broke loose as the truck’s 4000-pound cargo blasted the government building shattering one-third of the seven-story building. Investigators got it right, they said the suspect was a white male, possibly with military training. Timothy McVeigh thinking he was defending the Constitution, caused the death of 168 and wounded more than 500 others (Ottley, n.d). Nobody was surprised because it seemed like something a “white person” would do.
Fast forward to October 2002, just over a year from the September 11th attacks. The nation is in a panic wondering when the next attack is going to take place. Then on October 2, 2002 about 5:20 p.m. a victimless shot rang out in the Washington Metropolitan Area this was followed by an hour later a man was shot in the parking lot at a grocery store. The next day four more people were shot in a 2 hour period. The “DC Sniper” spent the next 3 weeks terrorizing the citizens of the Washington DC area with random shootings.
Profilers were brought in to assist local law enforcement in narrowing down the suspect. This time they got it wrong. The FBI behavioral scientist profile team said the suspect was a white male, working alone, in his 30’s. Turns out the DC sniper were a black male in his 40’s with his Jamaican step-son (Bothe, 2002). The nation was shocked because it seemed like a crime that a “white person” would do.
Increase in Racial Profiling Victims?
Unfortunately with 9/11 the increase in profiling people who are Arab, Muslim, South Asian or of Middle Eastern descent has made people in law enforcements job harder than ever. If there is a bomb the public with start yelling foul towards those of Muslim
Prof. James Wright/CRJS420
By Viktoria Gavre
American InterContinental University
June 20, 2013
Racial Profiling
Introduction
On April 19, 1995, around 9 a.m. a yellow Ryder Rental truck pulled up into a parking area outside the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. Two minutes later all hell broke loose as the truck’s 4000-pound cargo blasted the government building shattering one-third of the seven-story building. Investigators got it right, they said the suspect was a white male, possibly with military training. Timothy McVeigh thinking he was defending the Constitution, caused the death of 168 and wounded more than 500 others (Ottley, n.d). Nobody was surprised because it seemed like something a “white person” would do.
Fast forward to October 2002, just over a year from the September 11th attacks. The nation is in a panic wondering when the next attack is going to take place. Then on October 2, 2002 about 5:20 p.m. a victimless shot rang out in the Washington Metropolitan Area this was followed by an hour later a man was shot in the parking lot at a grocery store. The next day four more people were shot in a 2 hour period. The “DC Sniper” spent the next 3 weeks terrorizing the citizens of the Washington DC area with random shootings.
Profilers were brought in to assist local law enforcement in narrowing down the suspect. This time they got it wrong. The FBI behavioral scientist profile team said the suspect was a white male, working alone, in his 30’s. Turns out the DC sniper were a black male in his 40’s with his Jamaican step-son (Bothe, 2002). The nation was shocked because it seemed like a crime that a “white person” would do.
Increase in Racial Profiling Victims?
Unfortunately with 9/11 the increase in profiling people who are Arab, Muslim, South Asian or of Middle Eastern descent has made people in law enforcements job harder than ever. If there is a bomb the public with start yelling foul towards those of Muslim
References: Bothe, Elsbeth. December 15, 2002. The Baltimore Sun. Facing the Beltway snipers, profilers were dead wrong. Retrieved from: http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2002-12-15/entertainment/0212160297_1_van-zandt-serial-killers-snipers Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. 2011. Restoring a National Consensus: The Need to End Racial Profiling in America. Retrieved from: http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/racial_profiling2011.pdf Ottley, Ted. N.D. Crime Library. Timothy McVeigh & Terry Nichols Oklahoma Bombing. Retrieved from: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/mcveigh/dawning_1.html Ramsland, Katherine. N.D. TruTV. Criminal Profiling. Retrieved from: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/profiling/history_method/18.html