Preview

The Pros And Cons Of Racial Profiling

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
974 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Pros And Cons Of Racial Profiling
The United States has been an attractive place because of the many freedoms it offers to its citizens and visitors. America fought long and hard to extinguish the racism that originated from slavery; up until the 21st century there are still problems with racial discrimination. Racial profiling goes against what the United States of America stand for and it is unfortunate for those who escaped from discrimination to be subjected to it again. The drawbacks of racial profiling outweigh the benefits. There is no doubt that ethnic minorities are targeted in the U.S. because of their differentiations. Racial profiling isn’t and should never become justified when used by law enforcement due to its unfair qualities.

The justification of racial
…show more content…
The U.S. Department of Justice recently made an accusation against the Ferguson police in Missouri that they used, “systemic exploitation and discrimination against black Americans.” (Liguori, Michael) When the Ferguson case was on trial, it was obvious that the shooting of Michael Brown was provoked by racial profiling. The shooter, Darren Wilson, a white man was not charged for his act of self- defense which actually cost the life of an innocent man. This tragic case led for an increased number of African Americans feeling targeted because of their race. Racial profiling only causes problems. Racial profiling is an unfair bias against a particular race. Racial profiling implies that the skin color of someone determines their actions: Race doesn’t define them, their personality does. Criminals that are fortunate enough to be of an un-targeted race have the opportunity to hide behind those who embody the race that is profiled because of racial discrimination. Although profiling contains many drawbacks, there are benefits that interest the law officials. Time and money is saved by this “effective tool” because it finds possible …show more content…
In the article, What’s Race Got To Do With It?, the author merely brings up instances when an African American desires to do a normal daily task but faces obstacles because of their skin color; for example “driving while black” since the police stop them randomly when driving, “hailing while black” for the reason that it is harder to wave down a cab, and “ailing while black” because of the assumption for them to become addicted to their pain medicine. (Cloud, John) But not only are African Americans are targeted, other races are affected by social profiling too. After 9/11, the security in airports were raised to higher standards of safety. The equipment, protocol, and regulations all became more efficient in detecting terror threats. Unfortunately airport security also started searching Arab Americans in a more rigorous and disrespectful manner. Nafees Syed shared her story of when she visited the airport, 9 years after the 9/11 attack happened and was disgusted that she, “consistently faced [“random”] selections for extra screening at the airport after [she] decided to wear the hijab, or Muslim head covering. [She’s] been told to take [her] head scarf off or have [her] head probed while the passengers in front of [her] offered pitying smiles as they rushed to their flights.” (Syed, Nafees) Arab Americans that frequently travel will continue to deal with profiling at

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When we are children, we are taught not to judge a book by its cover, for most of us this is easier said than done. Racial and social profiling is a big issue that affects millions of people throughout the world.…

    • 642 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Racial Profiling is a controversial law enforcement practice that brings about numerous complex ethical and policy considerations. As defined by report for the Department of Justice (Tamir 2009), racial profiling is “any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the behavior of an individual or information that leads police to a particular individual who has been identified as being, or having been, engaged in criminal activity.” Generally, the use of race in conjunction with other evidence has been a common method of investigation for law enforcement officials. However, the use of race in targeting potential suspects has been the center of a complex legal and ethical debate. Specifically, the debate surrounding racial profiling offers the issue of the proper use of race in targeting a suspect in a criminal investigation. Though the use of race can be important in investigative and law enforcement tactics, the practice of racial profiling leads to the potential of abusive actions by law enforcement in the pursuit of apprehending criminal suspects.…

    • 1414 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the United States of America racial discrimination still exists to this day. Minorities in our country are not seen as equal people. When a person is deprived of their human rights it makes them feel degraded and troubled. In order to become a more civilized country, we must forget the color of our own skin and live with each other as one. In the article “Why Racial Profiling is a Bad Idea” by Tom Head, discusses the way cops pay more attention to those of minority races and how they usually find them guilty of crimes they didn’t commit. Even though many officers will deny their participation in this type of profiling, a lot use this tactic to pull over and arrest Minority races. The article “Racial Profiling Lives On” by Devon Carbado, Cheryl Harris and Kimberle Crenshaw, also displays examples of how racial profiling continues to this day. There are many ways cops can search/arrest African Americans or other Minorities for no reason and still keep from breaking the Fourth Amendment and the authors of “Racial Profiling Lives On” supports there claims with emotional examples that appeal to a pathological type of audience.…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Theoretically, racial profiling means safety precautions provided by the government aimed at certain ethnic/racial groups in order to keep the crime rate and a possibility of the terrorist attacks relatively low. This phenomenon has been ever-present in American society and had a lot of examples throughout the country's history. Even though racial profiling does not sound positive, it is still practiced against certain minorities in the US as a way to keep the country a secure place. However, there is a thin line between being cautious and harassing innocent people. No matter how noble the goal is, racial profiling cannot ever be justified.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    When profiling, if the accused is not a threat it's racist and based on appearance rather than value of character, bigger problems could occur being that its a human rights violation. Racial profiling violates international standards against non-discrimination and multiple treaties to which the U.S. is party, including the UN Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the International Convention on Civil and Political…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Racial profiling is a very widespread topic. Racial profiling is beginning to spread across the United States and many other countries as if a fire spread in a forest. It is important for us to understand that racial profiling is impractical and hurtful to the persons targeted. It is also important for people to recognize that racial profiling puts fear into people’s hearts and that can have an emotional impact on the way people think, act and even their character. Racial Profiling should be a exercise that should be ended in all places including the court system and law enforcement. One can come up with several illustrations declaring its advantages and disadvantages. Although racial profiling can be useful in certain cases it is incorrect…

    • 146 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Racial Profiling is one of the many areas covered in racial discrimination. It refers to the discriminatory practice, especially by law enforcement officials which targets individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Racial profiling has been and is still an issue today in almost every part of the United States. It is seen in different situations whereby people are treated very unfairly or branded criminals and suspects without any form of evidence It is a type of racial discrimination seen in all places though racial discrimination touches many areas like award of government benefits which is unequally shared as it should ,but at times based on who the person is. For example, I was once a…

    • 1804 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Profiling targets people with suspicious behavior; due this characteristic Profiling is often confused with Racial profiling, which is an erroneous term because “Racial profiling is defined as the targeting of citizens based on race, ethnicity, for additional scrutiny by criminal justice officials.” (Gabbidon, Penn, Jordan, & Higgins, 2009). However, “Security it is not about race. It is about behavior that you can see – if somebody is behaving in a nervous manner, or interacting with their surroundings in an unusual way” (Baum, 2016), and that is how profiling really works.…

    • 882 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Although racial profiling is legal, it's is unacceptable and very common in society. Racial profiling is defined as, “discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.” Even though it is said that in America racism is not acceptable, it is practiced on today’s society making it seem acceptable to everyone. As said in the article “Jim Crow Policing” by Bob Herbert, “It is incredible how few of the stops yielded any law enforcement benefit. Contraband, which usually means drugs, was found only in 1.6 percent of the stops of black New Yorkers. For…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial Profiling Cons

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages

    It allowed the United states to form a system that gathered statistics in order to target likely individuals who would commit a crime. Stanford University stated in an article wrote after a study was carried out that “If a higher percentage of people in one ethnic group actually do carry illegal drugs or weapons, for example, a higher search rate for that group may not reflect racial discrimination”. This shows how profiling is not racist, and gives a good explanation on how profiling in the United States works. We know the system works because of the following statement made by havok journal, “For decades, “profiling” has helped police agencies identify and arrest serial killers, prolific burglars, terrorists, and the like.” It is an effective tool to use in catching criminals, but it comes with the risk of being accused as a…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The judging of an individual’s character by their race did not become relevant because of the Rodney King beating, the attacks on the World Trade Center, or the illegal aliens crossing the Mexican border. Racial Discrimination has been a reoccurring issue for centuries. Throughout time, these judgments and discriminations have led to unwarranted searches, racial riots and unjust prosecutions. Racial Profiling not only adds to this overwhelming issue but is upheld by the U.S. government and prominent leaders. Racial profiling has caused divisions between black men and the police, negative effects on immigration and race relations, and false imprisonment, further proving that racial profiling is not defensible public policy.…

    • 1356 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Racial profiling has been around all around the world and is used by many people to provide safety to other people. Racial profiling is practiced by many police officers or law enforcers to provide safety to the community but they sometimes get carried away and abuse others instead. Racial profiling should be used for the safety of others but it should never be abused.…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    For as long as one can remember, racial profiling has been considers a major issue between enforcement and citizens in general. Racial profiling is the act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of an individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Most often when people think about racial profiling, they think of police brutality, which is wrong. The idea of racial profiling should be acceptable as long as no one is being harmed and there is no racism involved. People are convinced that racial profiling is unfair, but moreover everyone is a victim, no mater where you come from.…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial Profiling Effects

    • 1600 Words
    • 7 Pages

    “To those who have not experienced racial profiling or do not know someone who has, it may seem to be nothing more than a mere inconvenience. However, racial profiling is much more than a hassle or an annoyance. It has real and direct consequences. Those who experience profiling pay the price emotionally, psychologically, mentally and in some cases even financially and physically” (Ontario Human Rights Commission) Researchers studied the psychological effects of racial profiling and have found that “victim effects” of racial profiling includes many things such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other forms of stress related orders, face related threats, and failure to use community resources. Racial profiling impacts family, friends, classmates, and neighbours. Those who are opposed to racial profiling indicates that racial profiling is unnecessary and one should not be judged by the color of his or her skin. All races commit crimes, so it should not just be held against people of color. “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (The 14th amendment), while defenders of racial profiling believe that racial profiling is okay because other ethnicities have higher crime rates and it should be okay if they have suspicion against other races. They believe that racism and racial profiling are two different things and should not be in the same category, because racism is judging someone by the color of their skin, and racial profiling is just stating facts. Racial profiling is not…

    • 1600 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial Profiling Speech

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Racial profiling policies set up law enforcement agencies as enemies of entire communities. That tends to be disproportionately affected by crime--when law enforcement agencies should be in the business of protecting crime victims and helping them find justice. Its seems like nowadays there are more killings that seem to be racially profiled for example, Travonne Martin, Eric Garner and Mike Brown just to name a few. Not only is racial profiling morally wrong but it is also a violation of the fourteenth amendment. Supporters of racial profiling argue that this practice is necessary because it cuts down on crime. If certain people are more likely to commit certain kinds of crimes, it makes sense to target them, they say. But racial profiling opponents cite research they say proves the practice is ineffective. For example, since the dawn of the war on drugs in the 1980s, law enforcement agents have disproportionately targeted black and Latino drivers for narcotics. But a number of studies on traffic stops found that white drivers were more likely than their African American and Hispanic counterparts to have drugs on…

    • 436 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays