Racial Profiling - Human Rights - Essay Example

Racial Profiling (Human Rights) I. Introduction Racial Profiling is the practice of creating a set of behaviors based on race and using that set of behavior to decide whether a person is guilty of a crime and therefore he need to be investigated or arrested. Race profiling has been paired with accusations of racial discrimination against blacks and Hispanics particularly by the police during investigation or arrest. Millions of people in the United States are affected by this human right problem of racial profiling. Domestic Human Rights Program of Amnesty International USA conducted a study that showed that since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there has been an increase in unlawful use of race in immigration, police and also airport security has been enhanced. President George W. Bush has promised that he would end racial profiling shortly after taking office but there has been no improvement. Despite this, there has been an increase in racial profiling and the study also showed that states law does not provide sufficient and consistent protection against profiling. An extensive research done by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) showed that, national security is undermined when law enforcement uses racial profiling as a surrogate for criminal suspicion. (http://www.amnestyusa.org/racial_profiling/report/index.html) Racial profiling should stop before it eradicates the crime fighting gain of the last decade especially in the inner cities. Whenever enforcement statistics shows high rates of minority stops and arrests, the anti-profiling activists usually makes police an all but overwhelming presumption. Racial profiling has been primary focusing on the highway stop and police has been accused of pulling over a lopsided number of minority drivers in order to look for drugs rather than stopping a spender next to him. The driver may have committed an infringement but the reason for stopping him is his race. (Mac Donald, 2001) II. Background Racial profiling causes distrust and tension between the police and the community and this in turn affects all aspects of criminal justice systems. One of the fundamental principles of democracy is a guarantee of all individuals to equal protection under the law. Despite this, there has been a steady decline in the crime rate in nearly every community in the United States for the past eight years. "Law enforcement officers should not endorse or act upon stereotypes, attitudes, or beliefs that a person's race, ethnicity, or national origin increases that person's general propensity to act unlawfully". (Mc Devitt, Farrell, and Ramirez, 2000). According to Mc Devitt, Farrell, and Ramirez, (2000), it is through data collection that law enforcement agencies should address concerns and allegations regarding discriminatory policing. Data collection of information on the nature, character, and demographics of police enforcement practices, enhances the ability to assess the appropriate application of the authority and broad discretion entrusted to law enforcement. United States should have both effective enforcement and protection of the civil rights of all Americans. The U.S Department of Justice is set about developing a resource guide on resource guide on racial profiling data collection systems to encourage voluntary data collection. The American news media exploded with coverage of the racial profiling problem in the late 1990s. The local and national press had illustrated the individual and social costs of racial profiling. The community of color had been labeled the phenomenon with sarcastic terms such as "driving while black" or "driving while brown." According to survey that was conducted, it confirmed that most Americans, regardless of race, believe that racial profiling is a significant social problem. Gallup Poll released on 9 December , 1999 showed that more than half of Americans polled believed that police actively engage in the practice of racial profiling and, more significantly, 81 percent of them said they disapprove of the practice.1 According to the same report, a national sample of adults showed that 59% said that racial profiling is widespread. After the survey question was broken down by race, 56% of Whites and 77% of Blacks responded that racial profiling was insidious. The Gallup survey also asked people how often they perceived having been stopped by the police based on their race alone. The results were 6% and 42% of white and black respectively responded that they had been stopped by the police because of their race, and 72% of Black men between ages 18 and 34 believed they had been stopped because of their race. A more recent survey confirmed a strong connection between perceptions of race-based stops by police and animosity toward local and state law enforcement. The 1999 Gallup Poll asked respondents how positively they viewed the police and the results were 85% White respondents had a positive response toward local police and 87% of White respondents had a positive response to state police. The results showed that Black respondents had a less favorable opinion of both state and local police, with just 58% having a favorable opinion of the local police while 64 percent having a favorable response to the state police. Men who were between the age brackets of 18-34, 53% of them said they had not been treated fairly by the local police. (Gallup Poll Organization Poll Release, 1999) Gallup poll conducted shortly after the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack showed that 71% and 57% of Blacks and White respectively, supported racial profiling of Arabs and Arab-Americans at airport security checkpoints. 2 In 2002, a another poll conducted by the survey group Public Agenda showed that in the post-9/11 world, the public rejected some forms of racial profiling more strongly than others. The survey showed that 52% said there was "no excuse" for profiling of blacks, but two-thirds said profiling of Middle Easterners was "understandable, but you wish it didn't happen." 3 despite this, the survey showed that most individuals were uncomfortable with blatant profiling of Arab or Middle Eastern airline passengers. 4 In 1998, DOJ conducted a 12-city survey that showed that although most people in the African American community felt satisfied with police services in their neighborhoods, their level of frustration was approximately twice that of the White community.5 Such a wide rupture in all 12 cities surveyed indicated the need for law enforcement to work harder to restore the confidence of communities of color in the critical work being done by law enforcement. The law enforcement effort of the Police departments may be undermined if they fail to address the perception of racially discriminatory policing within minority neighborhoods. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1998) The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the ACLU are the two organizations that are strongly oppose racial profiling. They dispute the claim that most of the crimes are committed by minorities as this has been proven not to be true. Some take issue with the police having the prerogative to use race as a factor for it leaves minorities with little recourse if unfairly harassed by police. NAACP was formed in 1909 to work on behalf of African Americans and it is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States. It has been playing a leading role in lawsuits targeting racial segregation and other denials of civil rights. NAACP is run nationally by a 64-member board of directors led by a chairman. There are departments within the NAACP that govern areas of action. The local chapters are supported by the Branch and Field Services department and the Youth and College department while the Legal Department focuses on court cases of broad application to minorities, such as systematic discrimination in employment, government, or education. On the other hand. Washington, D.C. bureau is responsible for lobbying the U.S. Government; and the Education Department works to improve public education at the local, state and federal levels. The Health Division has an objective of advancing healthcare for minorities through public policy initiatives and education. (http://www.naacp.org/) National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB) was formed in 1917 but later changed its name to American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 1920. It is one of the most influential non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the United States today; often controversial; its stances have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum. Its mission is to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States and it works through litigation, legislation and community education. ACLU had over 5,000,000 members by the end of year 2005. It provides lawyers and legal expertise in cases in which it considers civil liberties to be at risk. ACLU submits amicus curiae briefs in support of its positions where it does not provide legal representation. (https://www.aclu.org/about/index.html) III. Claim Building greater communication links between community and police is the only way this problem of racial profiling can come to an end. Despite promises by President George W. Bush shortly after his taking office to end racial profiling, the number of American ethnic, racial, and religious groups whose members are at high risk of being subjected to this scourge has increased substantially. To address this growing national problem, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) urges the White House and Congress to prioritize and enact the End Racial Profiling Act of 2004 and allocate sufficient funds for its vigorous enforcement. From July 2003 to August 2004, AIUSA's Domestic Human Rights Program studied the current state of racial profiling by law enforcement agencies in the United States. The process began with the consultation of a wide range of community organizations and the organizing of a series of public hearings across the United States throughout the fall of 2003. IV. Opposing Police officers do a dangerous work of protecting the innocent ones. There are claims that minorities are the ones that become suspects than the white and most often stop in the highway. For example in a case where police stop people of color traveling through predominately White areas because the police believe that people of color do not "belong" in certain neighborhoods and may be engaged in criminal activity. This type of profiling was reported by Alvin Penn, the African-American deputy president of the Connecticut State Senate. In 1996, a Trumbull, Connecticut, police officer stopped Penn as he drove his van through this predominately White suburban town. After reviewing Penn's license and registration, the officer asked Penn if he knew which town he was in (Bridgeport, the state's largest city, where Blacks and Latinos comprise 75% of the population, borders Trumbull, which is 98% White). Penn, recalling that he had been turning around on a dead-end street when the officer stopped him, responded by asking why he needed to know which town he was in. The officer told him that he was not required to give Penn a reason for the stop and that, if he made an issue of it, the officer would cite him for speeding. Three years after this incident, Penn sponsored legislation that made Connecticut the second state to begin collecting data on the demographics of individuals stopped by state police. 6 V. Changes To build greater link between the community and the police, the police departments and other law enforcement agencies should encourage contact between police officers and the communities they serve. United States government should train their law enforcement officials about the ineffectiveness of profiling based on inherent physical traits and changing their behavior accordingly. In the 1970's, the U.S. Secret Service relied upon a presidential assassin profile that said assailants would be males. After the arrest of Sara Jane Moore for taking a shot at President Ford, the gender limitation was removed from the profile. The value of changing the profile was verified in 1992 when a young woman was arrested for threatening to kill President George H.W. Bush after bringing a rifle to a rally where he was scheduled to speak. (Dedham, 2001) We should target the entire justice system to be more accountable by ensuring that programs for the selection, training and monitoring of justice officials involved in the administration of justice should include specific measures to ensure that in the performance of their duties their conduct is not in any way racist or discriminatory, either directly or indirectly. For this purpose, cross-cultural awareness and anti-racism programs should be essential elements in the training of justice officials. VI. Conclusion Racial profiling has expanded in the United States has expanded since September 11, 2001 terrorist attack. We should therefore see an urgent need for passage of legislation to effectively eliminate the practice. This legislation must include a clear definition of racial profiling, specific means of determining the existence and depth of the practice in all law enforcement agencies, and provide measures to bring abusive officers and agencies into greater compliance with the law. The government of United States should also take charge and end racial profiling by: Passing the Racial Profiling Act of 2004; Ensuring that national laws prohibit all forms of discrimination and provide effective protection against racism; Educating affected communities about new domestic security policies and withdrawing reservations to already ratified international human rights treaties Reference Amnesty International USA (2006): Threat and Humiliation: Racial Profiling, National Security, and Human Rights in the United States, Available at http://www.amnestyusa.org/racial_profiling/report/index.html Bureau of Justice Statistics (1998): Criminal Victimization and Perceptions of Community Safety in 12 Cities, Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, May 1999 NCJ 173940. Dedham, B. (2001): "Fighting Terror/Words of Caution on Airport Security: Memo Warns Against Use of Profiling as a Defense," Boston Globe, Oct. 12, 2001. Mc Devitt, J., Farrell, A., and Ramirez, D. (2000): A Resource Guide on Racial Profiling Data Collection Systems, Northeastern University, Washington D.C Mac Donald, H (2001): The Myth of Racial Profiling, City Journal, Spring 2001 Evans, D. G (2001): Probe Changes Face of Racial Profiling Debate, Available at http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,35521,00.html, Accessed on 7/27/2006 Gallup Poll Organization Poll Release (1999); Racial Profiling is seen as Widespread, Particularly Among Young Black Men, Princeton, NJ: Gallup Poll Organization, December 9, 1999 Knowing it by Heart (2002): Finding Four: Protecting Our Rights in Perilous Times, Available at http://www.publicagenda.org/specials/constitution/constitution4.htm, accessed on 7/27/2006 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (2006): Making Democracy Work since 1909, Available at http://www.naacp.org/, Accessed on 7/27/2006 National Civil Liberties Bureau (2006): National Civil Liberties Bureau, Available at https://www.aclu.org/about/index.html, Accessed on 7/24/2006 Public Agenda (2006): Race; Red Flag, Available at http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/red_flags.cfmissue_type=race#profiling, Accessed on 7/27/2006 Rawls, J. (199): A Theory of Justice, Revised Edition, Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts Weizel, R. (1999): "Lawmaker Pushes for Racial Profiling Bill," Globe, Boston May 2, 1999, Read More