Argumentative Essay On Racial Profiling

Racial profiling is defined as refers to the targeting of particular individuals by law enforcement authorities based not their behavior, but rather their personal characteristics (

In his essay “Arrested Development: The Conservative Case Against Racial Profiling” published in the New Republic on September 10, 2001, professor James Forman Jr. illustrates his disagreement with racial profiling. Forman Jr. is a professor at Yale Law School. He teaches Constitutional Law and seminars on race and the criminal justice system. In his piece, Forman primary goal is to create understanding about the effectiveness of racial profiling and how this affects the black community especially youths. Forman achieves this by appealing to a liberal audience. Moreover, Forman’s essay was published in a newspaper which targeted audience are individuals open to new ideas and opinions, and individuals advocating for social reform. Also, another important aspect is that during his essay, Forman attacks the conservative party which also gives a clear idea of his intended audience. By establishing his credibility

Racial discrimination is becoming a major problem in today 's society. Our nation is facing problems based on the discrimination on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Racial profiling is a clear violation of the civil rights of the United States. The use of racial profiling has caused major issues and has had a huge impact among our nation. This has influenced a lot of hate and killing towards different type of race, religion, etc. groups. Law enforcement has become ineffective due to racial profiling. Statistics have shown some situations of racial profiling.

Racial profiling has become a national issue starting in 2015 (“Racial”). Judging someone for their race has been a problem ever since a minority group has been noticed. Racial profiling has spread over all over the world. Racial profiling has been a problem through the years, if the human race can learn what racial profiling is, advantages of the profiling, and the disadvantages.

In recent years racial profile has been the buzz word. So what is racial profiling? Racial profiling is using the race of an individual or ethnicity by law enforcement as factor in the decision whether to engage in the enforcement of the law. The allegations are cops are targeting minorities, seemingly people of Africa decent more than any other race. I have been accused of racism many times in the past with little to no provocation. It usually comes at the beginning of a traffic stop when I walk to the car. I hear the person say “you only stopped me because I’m black”. I have explained to numerous people I didn’t know who or what color they were until I walked up to the car. Contrary to the belief cops know who’s in the car before we pull it over, we don’t. The social outcry that the police, the front-line representatives of government are targeting the minorities is false. There’s no credible evidence that racial profiling exists today, yet the crusade to abolish it threatens a decade’s worth of crime-fighting success.

The act of profiling is defined as the analysis of a person’s psychological and behavioral characteristics to help make generalizations/ assumptions about a person’s intent and or capability. An assumption is defined as something that has been accepted as being true without substantial evidence. These assumptions, then lead to what is known as racial profiling, which refers to a sort of discriminatory way in which an individual is targeted for suspicion in a crime based solely on that individual’s race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Why make assumptions about a person without having substantial evidence? Why violate and/or humiliate an entire group of people based on an assumption? Having actual and factual data that has been analyzed

Random sample surveys were conducted in Seattle, Washington by telephone, which asked citizen’s various questions concerning their feelings towards police. These questions included their level of happiness in regards to police problem-solving, their views on police hassling citizens, and if they had ever experienced, or perceived to experience racial profiling or bias by law enforcement (Wu, 2014). Of all the citizens that took part in the survey, 64% of African Americans felt that racial profiling was a problem inside their neighborhoods, 28% of Asians, 20% of whites, and 34% of Hispanics agreed (Wu,

However there are two stories to racial profiling, everyone always focus on the victim’s life but never on the officers’. Law enforcements also have families to live for. Therefore, police officers say they often have to make split-second decisions while staying safe. "First, when officers arrive, they have to think of their own safety," said Anthony Miranda, executive chairman of the National Latino Officers Association of America. "Secondly, they think about public safety and from there they should make a decision. The problem is that in the discussions we are having is that officials abuse their authority" (CNN News). With that said, both parties are seeking for safety. There are times when you don’t know how the cop pulling you over is going to react. He might be calm or passive aggressive. It’s like playing a Russian roulette game. Also vice versa, how is the person being pulled over going to react? Is the person innocent or a criminal, or under the substance of any rugs that might have an effect on how he/she reacts when being stopped. Many questions come into play and it’s a matter of seconds that it takes to for either opponent to

In conclusion, the idea of racial profiling and the issues on racism in today’s society calls attention to sustain peace and ethnic equality within communities all across the nation and around the world. It is important to acknowledge that the main solution to change the issues on racial profiling and racism is among the duties of government authorities, law enforcement officials, and the people of a nation. Everyone, of any race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or authority needs to understand that our voices and actions are capable of fixing the issues of racial injustice into a more fair environment to all people of color. Therefore, it is up to our knowledge and actions to help people understand that the solution to obtain racial equality

For those who haven’t experienced racial profiling, or know someone that has been a victim of it, the issue may seem nothing more than annoying noise in their ears. However, the reality is that racial profiling has consequences, which results in emotional, physiological, and physical damage. The ones that are the most at risk are the youth of color. Racial profiling is harmful because it creates mistrust in law enforcement, hostile environment in the educational system, and social tension in communities.

Racial issues are sometimes dismissed as history; they are thought of as issues of the past. People sometimes believe that since the government preaches equality, that most racial issues are resolved. This is not the case in today’s society, as racial issues are still prevalent in everyday life. Not only facing discriminatory practices in the job market, minorities face racism in many different aspects of everyday life. In the world we live in today, people tend to judge a whole group of people based on the actions of only a few. It is ironic that in the country that was founded on immigrants from every corner of the world can have people that discriminate against those that are from different ethnicities than them. There is a significant

Racial profiling is a controversial topic in today’s society, it leads to false assumptions without having any facts. People suspect and target people based on a stereotype about their race. Many minorities are targeted by government officials such as police officers just because of their race or ethnicity. Just because a particular person from a particular race did something wrong, everyone from that race is being discriminated against by people from other races. Injustice is all around us and peoples right are being violated. In Citizen, a book of different stories, Claudia Rankine shows how the black community is being discriminated against and socially profiled. Rankine shares some of her and her friends experiences that they encountered

One of the problems with racial profiling is that it is ineffective, It can be proven to be ineffective by a statistic in Chicago that shows were racial minorities were searched four times as often, but Whites were found with contraband twice as often (12 Racial Profiling Pros and Cons). Racial profiling is also patently illegal, it violates the U.S Constitution’s core promises of equal protection under law and freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures (Racial Profiling). Discriminatory omissions or selective enforcement is mentioned by Macdonald in “The Myth of Racial Profiling” and also by the American Civil Liberties Union and is a problem with law enforcement that dates back to as early as the 1950’s and 60’s when southern sheriffs did nothing about groups like the Ku Klux Klan. A more recent example would be when the local police failed to respond to an African American man’s repeated complaints about property damage and being attacked after moving into a white neighborhood in Maryland, The man was eventually arrested because for shooting his gun while trying to disperse a mob outside his home. Racial profiling also is unethical and can raise racial tensions, it is unethical because it targets specific groups, while this may help narrow down a suspect pool, it also can target people who have committed no crime at all. Racial profiling can raise racial tensions in areas where racial profiling is most prevalent by law enforcement. Animosities tend to run high which results in those most likely to be profiled against won’t cooperate with law enforcement when necessary even if they have not committed any

Racial profiling by law enforcement is an overwhelmingly useless and prevalent expression of hate and ignorance to this day. Internationally, a wide variation of races are unrightfully discriminated against by the enforcements who are supposedly there to protect them. Jim Crow policing is an issue that undoubtedly continues, no matter the amount of riots or unjustly arrested/ murdered civilians. Cases like Trayvon Martin, and Mike Brown, as well as Bob Herbert 's article Jim Crow Policing published in the New York Times, February 2nd 2010, explain first hand accounts and statistics to give examples of the fact that racial profiling from the police force consistently takes place.

This is an annotated bibliography researching the reasons for, effects of, and solutions to racial profiling by law enforcement in the United States. I am researching racial profiling and is it justified in law enforcement.