A Look Into Racial Profiling
The shooting of Trayvon Martin, a black teen, brutally shot by a neighborhood watchmen, George Zimmerman, brought up the discussion in America about a cruel, disgustingly common practice, racial profiling. Trayvon Benjamin Martin was a street smart boy living in Miami Gardens, Florida. He was home, visiting his father after a drug-related suspension from school. When Martin was calling his girlfriend, he was seen by the watchman, Zimmerman. Then, Zimmerman allegedly called the police, and was told not to move, or leave his car. After the conversation with the police, Zimmerman then stepped out of his vehicle and after an altercation, killed Martin. After the murder, Zimmerman was sent to court, he then claimed it was out of self defence, and because there were no witnesses, this couldn’t
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Profiling puts barriers between citizens of a different races because judging someone only by their race gives one a pre-fixed opinion, thus making it difficult to create diversity in a community full of racist people who have created negative images of people. Racial profiling can bring people down in both a financial and personal way which leads to more racial profiling because being affected in these ways encourages one to continue profiling others as they have anger building up which needs to be released. Supporters of racial profiling argue that the use of demographics, statistics, and, information to capture criminals is justified. Also, that if a group commits a crime, they should be stopped. However, critics of the practice argue that the idea of one group committing more crimes than other groups is just untrue, information also points to the idea that profiling is wrong, both legally and ethically. Racial profiling should not occur within law enforcement because profiling people is illegal, profiling others divides people into racial categories, and profiling has been shown through numerous studies to be
Zimmerman identified Martin as being sketchy and called the police regarding a very suspicious individual to which the police ordered him not to follow. Zimmerman profiled Martin and then confronted him, no one actually saw the incident but
There were different stories about the encounter; according to Zimmerman, Trayvon was the one that attacked him after he was returning to his car. Trayvon punched him in the nose, and he yelled for help, and it got to the point where Zimmerman felt he could not breathe; however, Jeantel stated Trayvon was the one yelling for Zimmerman to get off before the call ended. During the altercation, Zimmerman thought Trayvon was going for his firearm, so he "grabbed it immediately," saying, "I just pulled my firearm and shot him" (George Zimmerman trial). This case was tried as self-defense, and the jury found Zimmerman "not guilty of murder or manslaughter, but the jury agreed that Mr. Zimmerman could have been justified in shooting Mr. Martin because he feared great bodily
“Racial profiling punishes innocent individuals for the past actions of those who look and sound like them…” Civil Rights activist, Benjamin Jealous’ words are very relevant to the case of Trayvon Martin. Trayvon Martin was murdered at age seventeen by George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was a neighborhood watch patrol in his neighborhood, where Martin also lived. Zimmerman called 911 to report Martin as a “real suspicious guy” “a black male” walking around the neighborhood. Martin wore a hoodie on his way home from 7-Eleven with intentions of going home, but Zimmerman continued to follow Martin.
February 26th, 2012, 17 year old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a community watch volunteer while walking home from a convenience store. In a 911 call, Zimmerman stated Martin was just walking around and up to no good. The dispatcher advised Zimmerman not to follow Trayvon and wait for a police officer to arrive. George Zimmerman proceeded to shoot Trayvon Martin, killing him. Based on physical evidence and the testimony provided by Zimmerman it was viewed that he acted in “self-defense”.
This teenager was walking along the sidewalk to his home when George Zimmerman, a member of the community watch, called the police and reported a suspicious black boy was roaming the streets. During this time period there had been several robberies in the area. So, instead of waiting for backup from the police, Zimmerman approached Martin on his own and questioned him. There was soon an altercation between the two and Zimmerman eventually shot the teenager. When the police arrived on the scene, Trayvon was already dead.
Racial profiling has been going on for centuries to most - if not all - races and ethnic groups. However, after certain circumstances such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, the United States turned greatly against those
"Racial Profiling and Criminal Justice." The Journal of Ethics, vol. 15, no. 1-2, 2011. , pp. 79-88. Nclive, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10892-010-9098-3.
Profiling, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is the act or process of extrapolating information about a person based on known traits or tendencies. It is, in other words, a way of gathering information about someone through observations. Just based on this definition alone, you would be easily fooled into thinking that profiling, especially racial profiling, is harmless and simply another topic that is beaten and thrashed by the media. However, a more detailed analysis of police practices tells us another story: profiling is an illegal and immoral practice that threatens to shake the foundations of our ethnically-integrated society.
Racial profiling is a positive thing. Racial profiling is a practice used by law enforcement officials to target individuals and groups of people who are suspicious of crimes based on their ethnicity. Racial profiling should be allowed for the police to use because it is easier for them to track down criminals, to prevent crimes from happening and to create a safer place. Racial profiling should be allowed for the police to use because it is easier to prevent crimes from happening.
Racial profiling is used in different ways and is a problem that needs to be solved in the United
It is reprehensible because it is often accompanied by negative or hostile attitudes and aggressive conduct toward members of the profiled group. (encyclopedia of public health) 3. (Exploring Black and White Accounts of 21st-Century Racial Profiling: Riding and Driving While Black. ) Through the research they find out relatively more black drivers (12.8%) than white (9.8%) and Hispanic (10.4%) drivers were pulled over in traffic." Or, to put it in another way: A black driver is 31% more likely to be pulled over than a white driver, or 23% more likely than a Hispanic driver.
Racial profiling is a very important issue that individuals in society face every day. This problem occurs in low income or poverty-stricken areas throughout cities and communities across the nation. Hundreds of anecdotal testimonials allege that law enforcement officials at all levels of government are infringing upon the constitutional rights and civil liberties of racial and ethnic minorities through a practice called “racial profiling” (Ward, 2002). So what is racial profiling? According to the National Institute of Justice, racial profiling by law enforcement is commonly defined as a practice that targets people for suspicion of crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin (National Institute of Justice, 2013).
Racial profiling can become a problem one day, maybe be a threat to anyone moving to a new place. The society could use the End Racial Profiling Act as a way to stop this unethical way of catching criminals. We can also abolish the practices and influences that people give to start racial profiling. Racial profiling has also taken time away from law enforcement. They have
Social profiling should not be legalised in America because it will only promote discrimination, protest, and divided
Racial Profiling can be useful sometimes and sometimes it can hurt other people’s feelings. It can be useful to the police because it can give the police an idea of who or what kind of person committed a crime. You can’t always rely on racial profiling to help find the criminal. There is no guarantee that you will find the criminal by using racial profiling. It can hurt other people because you are judging the person by their looks and actions.