Racial Profiling: In Need Of Modification Of Procedures - Essay Example

?Racial Profiling: In Need Of Modification Of Procedures Introduction Racial discrimination is one of the major evils of the society. As the roots ofracial discrimination lie in the prejudiced thinking of people, it has seeped in every aspect of human life. Hence, all the institutions in society are also affected by racial discrimination, and people from minority ethnic groups and lower socio-economic status (SES) experience racial discrimination at every stage of life. Social institutions like education, medical care, media, jobs etc., are all affected by the practice of racial discrimination. One such institution that is attracting heavy attention from media, people and the government, due to its practice of racial discrimination, is the institution of police department and security services (Laney 1). In the recent years, people from minority ethnic groups have become easy target of police officials and experience ridicule, insults and unnecessary police action through the method of racial profiling (Laney 1). At the same time, there are many instances where many lives were saved due to arrest of terrorists with the help of racial profiling (Kops 81). Ahmed Ressam, a terrorist trained under Al Qaeda, was arrested when he was stopped with the help of racial profiling and suspicious behavior (Kops 81). However, the debate over racial profiling has intensified as people who are target of racial profiling, and those who are target of attacks from terrorist from Arab and Middle Eastern countries, both want to feel safe in their own country. Hence, to gain trust from people and to remove their hatred for police officials, the only solution for the police department is to change the formats and rules of racial profiling, and provide intense and extensive training to the officials on profiling a person not only on the basis of racial cues, but also on the basis of his behavior and body language. Definition Racial profiling is defined as a “practice of targeting individuals for police or security interdiction, detention, or other disparate treatment based primarily on their race or ethnicity, in the belief that certain minority groups are more likely to engage in unlawful behavior” (Laney 1). The definition clearly points out that the race of a person is the major factor in the method of racial profiling. However, it is not completely true. According to a broader definition, racial profiling is a method that police officers use to question someone on the basis of cues he gets from different factors like his age, body language, style of dressing, time of the day, behavior etc., along with the race of a person (Kops 9). The broader definition shows that race is not the only factor in racial profiling. Moreover, it is important to note that ‘profiling’ is not done only by police officials, but is a part of human observation pattern and hence, even common public do the racial profiling without knowing that they are doing it (Heumann and Cassak 10). This shows that racial profiling is not learnt through training but has its roots in human psychology. The Roots Of Racial Profiling Racial profiling is not just a random method that has cropped up without any reason. There is a valid reason for the use of technique like racial profiling by police officers. The investigation methods used by police officers depend a lot on the history of crime and their experience in criminal investigations (Heumann and Cassak 10). The decisions of policemen are based on the on-job experience, different personality factors, and the repeatedly observed associations between certain crimes and people related to certain ethnic and racial background (Heumann and Cassak 35). Moreover, the beliefs that people of minority group are more involved in criminal activities also drive police officers to feel a ‘hunch,’ against them, and suspect them, more than suspect people from the majority group (Heumann and Cassak 35). However, there is a reason for police officials and security people to feel ‘hunches’ that lead to racial profiling. Their experience has taught them to be alert when they see certain ‘type’ of people and one of the important variable for this alertness is the race of a person (Heumann and Cassak 35). The statistics show that people from minority groups are more involved in criminal activities than people from majority groups (Kops 10). It has been found that disproportionate number of African Americans and minority people commit crimes (Kops 10). During year 1992 to 1996, blacks were only 12% of the population, but 58% of those committed crimes like stealing the vehicles by threatening the drivers (Kops 10). It is not surprising to find that more blacks than whites are target of the police official’s investigation as stopping people from committing crimes and making them obey the law is the main duty of the police officers (Kops 10). Moreover, racial profiling is not only used by white police officers but is also used by black and other minority police officers (Kops 10). Hence, the allegation that racial profiling is a form of racism is wrong and baseless. However, the insecure and unsafe environment created due to the threats from terrorists has led to corruption in racial profiling. The Corruption Of Racial Profiling In recent years, complaints from the minority have increased immensely as they feel that police have become excessively aggressive and racial in their investigation strategies (Gaines and Kappeler 193). It has been observed that disproportionately large numbers of minority people were being “stopped, cited, searched or arrested” at the traffic stops (Gaines and Kappeler 193). According to Gaines (2006), it was found that in the states of New Jersey and Maryland, instead of stopping people on the basis of ‘violation of law,’ the police officials were stopping people on the base of their race (Gaines and Kappeler 193). The actions by police became more controversial as it was found that even though there were no signs of suspicious behavior or other indicators, people were stopped only on the basis of their minority racial background (Gaines and Kappeler 193). However, it is also clear that the circumstances like terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, have changed the opinion of people. To asses the vulnerability and possibility of future terrorist attacks, police department had to work aggressively to investigate those responsible for the attacks (Siggins para.9). Before the attack, vast majority of American people had voted against racial profiling at traffic stops in the polls conducted in 1999 (Laney 6). However, in a poll conducted between October 21 and November 25, 2002, 68% of the Americans said that racial profiling should be used to fight terrorism (Laney 6). This shows that racial profiling is not a completely wrong tool or method. It creates controversies only when people ‘think’ and experience corruption of the method at the hands of some officers. Some steps can be taken by the police department to design the procedures and policies of racial profiling in such a way that it is acceptable by people from every race (Laney 4). Officers using aggressive racial profiling should be monitored by superiors, and detail documentation of the investigation should be done (Laney 4). In this way, racial profiling, which is a useful tool in tracking the terrorists and crimes, should be used intelligently by the police department. Conclusion The discussion above reveals that racial profiling, in itself, is not a negative tool. However, lack of proper supervision and procedures leads to corruption of the method. Hence, to use this method for fighting terrorism and other life threatening crimes, police department should modify the policies and procedures of racial profiling. This will not only help police to gain trust and faith of people, but will also help them in keeping the crimes in check without generating police hatred in people’s heart. Works Cited Gaines, Larry, and Victor Kappeler. Policing In America. 7th ed. Waltham: Elsevier, 2011. Print. Heumann, Milton, and Lance Cassak. Good Cop Bad Cop: Racial Profiling And Competing Views Of Justice. New York: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc., 2007. Print. Kops, Deborah. Racial Profiling. Terrytown: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2007. Print. Laney, Garrine. Racial Profiling: Issues, Date And Analyses. Ed. Steve Muffler. Hauppauge: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2006. Print. Siggins, Peter. “Racial Profiling in an Age of Terrorism.” Santa Clara University. n.d. Web. 9 Nov’ 2011. Read More