Should racial profiling be accepted as a law enforcement practice - Essay Example

living amongst Americans. It is unfortunate, then, that the country who welcomed these people of different races to live in its soil is now thinking of implementing a program that would be put these invited guests at risk. Racial profiling can be synonymous to racial discrimination and should not be practiced because it puts innocent people at risk, promotes prejudice among police officers and in some way violates an individual’s freedom of expression. Racial profiling as the term connotes is when individuals, usually those tasked to protect the public, commit an act in the performance of this duty based on stereotypes of race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, or place of origin because of reasonable suspicion.

“250” as it is called in the New York Police Department authorizes police personnel to stop, question and pat down individuals who appear reasonably suspicious. (Weir and Capote) It has supposedly decreased the crime rate in the city. After the 9/11attacks on the World Trade Center, many people have showed support for the measure. Others are in fear of it and incidents have shown exactly why opposition exists. The appearance of a person is not a determinant of the race of such person. As such one of the requirements of racial profiling will already lead to many errors that can traumatize innocent citizens.

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, many dark-skinned men feared arrest. There were several dark-skinned individuals who became persons of interest for the police. (Izadi) Sunil Tripathi, a university student who was found dead was also suspected for the bombing. (Schroeder) As it turned out the actual bombers were Caucasian who appeared to be tied up with Islamic fundamentalists. (Izadi) Kasim Walters who is 17 and living in Brooklyn has been stopped seven times by the NYPD and has described his experience as very scary.

(Weir and Capote) These individuals were judged because of how they looked. These acts showed that just being a person of color makes an innocent person a suspect. This should not be so. Race or beliefs cannot be known just by looking at a person. The second requirement of racial profiling is that the person is reasonably suspicious. What is reasonably suspicious? Sunil Tripathi’s photo was flashed on television after a post on Reddit claimed he was the Boston bomber. (Daily) Immediately, police and concerned citizens were looking for Tripathi.

Later on, when the real culprits were apprehended and Tripathi’s body was found, apologies flooded media. The damage has been done, however. The young man’s reputation was already tarnished, the mystery surrounding his death aggravating the issue of mistaken identity. Racial profiling seems to say that when there are tribal tags on a person’s car (Amnesty) or one’s clothing is similar to those worn by individuals wanted by authorities it is (Goldstein) legal for police to stop the person to conduct a search.

This is both inconvenient and humiliating. Finally, racial profiling should not be practiced because it gives rise to bias among law enforcement people and harmful behavior. Indeed police officers should be commended by putting their lives on the line to protect society. Nevertheless, it is not a secret that they can be violent or prejudiced at times. Reality TV programs such as COPS and America’s Most Wanted have given audience a glimpse on how the authorities handle the