Racial Profiling Research Papers Examples

Introduction

In July 2014, Eric Garner had a confrontation with the police enforcers, suspected him of selling loose and illegal cigarettes. Garner was forcefully arrested, and during the arrest, for eleven times, Garner said, “I cannot breathe” . Apparently, Garner had a total loss of the air supply and blood circulation and died due to chokehold made by the police officer. In the Justice department, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. has expanded the rules of racial profiling. Holder’s reason in the expanded rules for racial profiling is to strongly prevent the Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI agents from considering religion, national origin, gender, religion, race and ethnicity when opening a case. In the United States, it has revealed that there are sixty qualitative interviews in the presence of racial tensions in the 21st century. For the law enforcers or police officers’ goals, profiling is a tool that advances them to use race to indicate criminality. Racial profiling should not be used as a direct law enforcement tactic by the police force and there is a need for a systematic change to fix police misconduct.

Background Information

One of the growing national issues that target individuals based on race or ethnicity, especially those of color is the racial profiling. It is a noteworthy issue that Americans are facing today. The notion of racial profiling in the law enforcement has a deep effect on individuals’ impression to police officers. If the citizens’ opinions about the police officers are negative, they possibly have less trust and cooperation to assist any investigation. Consequently, the racial profiling has caused severe community ties and relationships and has led many individuals in different communities to live in fear and paranoia. In the Constitution, racial profiling is patently illegal; however, it is against the equal protection clause and occurs everywhere and every day. For example, Garner’s death became a spotlight on the civil rights and police-community relations, and a serious issue of the nation. The racial characteristics can help the law enforcement as their tactics to target the suspected criminals. In utilizing race as their target factor, the police officers arrest many offenders. As a result, racial profiling has caused tension and trouble between the public and the police officers.
Racial profiling prevents some people from evolving into a post-racial society. The racial tensions only grow stronger amongst law enforcement officials and citizens of the community. Some people are unfairly being accused or suspected of crimes with less or no evidence to support the allegation. After the death of Eric Garner, the profiling rules have come a moment of racial tension in the United Sates and all over the world. According to Mayor Bill de Blasio that, the death of Garner was a terrible tragedy that no single family should have to bear. As suggested by Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. that, the investigation focused on some eyewitnesses with the pertinent information and evidence to offer. The investigation yielded twenty-two civilian eyewitnesses who have seen he scenario among the members of the New York Police District or NYPD and Garner. However, the decision made by the grand jury, not to indict Daniel Pantaleo, the policeman who chokehold Garner, has provoked some group of protesters against the decision. The protesters with the support of the City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito claimed that the decision was terribly disappointing. The sad event has triggered the comparison of race and ethnicity between the Black and White police officers and citizens. The racial characteristics have a great influenced in forming the perceptions of the citizens toward the police force. If the law enforcement practices are free from inappropriate considerations, the public will strengthen their trust to the enforcement agencies. In addition, the fairness can lead to effective collaboration between the police force and the community to fight crimes. However, the decisions made by the enforcement officers using the race, ethnicity, religion, and national origin are unlawful. The law enforcers or police officers should rely on the specific suspect description, evidence, and proven violation. It consists of 60 different interviews of a wide variety of participants expressing their outlooks on the experiences between Black citizens and White law enforcement officers behind the wheel. The White participants claimed to notice patterns of paranoia among the Black drivers and a higher tendency of the Black drivers to be pulled over due to racial profiling. The society still struggles to evolve into a post-racial society and the obvious racial tensions that exist between White police officials and automobile drivers of a different skin color.
The racial profiling can often neglect the bigger picture by picking on seemingly “obvious suspects” and superficial factors such skin color or the way one of a certain ethnicity presents themselves is focused on. It only implies that most people, who actually committed crimes are not the ones who are being treated unfairly. For example, the death of Eric Garner, a man whose only crime was selling illegal cigarettes on the street was assaulted and choked to death. The involved police officers did not even give attention when Garner repeatedly says that he could not breathe, and not to mention the multiple health conditions due to asthma and obesity. Officer Daniel Pantaleo claimed that Garner resisted arrest and he did not target the man due to his race. However, it is obvious Garner’s death was the result of a very ugly truth, Garner was an African-American. There was an outraged action of police brutality since Pantaleo was not indicted, clearly, NYPD Officer Pantaleo does not face charges of the incident. The public needs to stand and unite as one to fight for justice for those innocent victims and treated unfairly. The law enforcers or police officers are conducting profiling based on race every time they question, stop, or search an individual because of their race. The main disadvantage with profiling is that, during a normal routine, some of the police officers target the minorities. They focused on the minorities because they believed that the minorities more often to commit crimes. This notion leads to the violation of the minorities’ human rights. As described by the New York Civil Liberties Union, the decision of the grand jury of Garner’s case was a failure that clearly demonstrates the necessity for the NYPD reform. The videos and images, that sparked, have prompted William Bratton, NYPD Commissioner to inform all the police officers to undergo specialized trainings on how to handle physical confrontations.
Law enforcement should never be used as a way to suppress others because it demonstrates a lack of respect for others, and it can cause terrible police-community relations. In 2003, the Department of Justice supersedes the guidance about the use of race by the law enforcement agencies. The objectives of the guidance help to build and expand the scheme of the deep commitment of the government to make that the laws are conducted in unbiased ways for the public. The guidance helps promote accountability to ensure that the concerned enforcers understood every strand of it. The biased practices are being recognized as unfair, mistrust, and negative or harmful stereotypes. In addition, it is vital that all law enforcers should act or perform their duty fairly and effectively. It means that, fair law practices are effective and smart. On the contrary, biased practices are simply unlawful. Fair law enforcement is centered on integrity, efficacy, and legitimacy of all the government’s law enforcement activities. The law enforcement activities possess the highest standards. By its application, it hinders serious crimes, and it motivates every police officer to engage justice and equality regardless of race or ethnicity. There are two necessary standards combined and recommended for the law enforcement officers to follow. First, during spontaneous or routine decisions, enforcers may not utilize gender, religion, national origin, race or ethnicity to any degree. However, there is an exception when the officer relies on the specific characteristic description of the suspect and it is lawful. Second, in conducting all activities other than the spontaneous or routine activities, enforcers may consider gender, religion, national origin, race or ethnicity. However, it is only to the extent that the information is trustworthy, relevant to the time and location. Through this extent, it links to the particular characteristics identified as criminal incidents, organization, scheme, or a suspected person.
However, racial profiling is needed to apprehend criminals. The practice of racial profiling is a tool or a target factor significant to the police officers to apprehend criminals. The advocates of the racial profiling have considered the tool as a law enforcement tactic. The race itself or the ethnic characteristics can help the police officers to target those criminals or offenders. In addition, using racial profiling as a tool to apprehend violators of the law. Racial profiling has the integration of the traditional discussion towards the legitimacy of frisking of the minority groups in different location and time. It is a tool in the war on terrorism in the nation. The arguments of the racial profiling have faced challenges. First, the argument is questioned on its empirical grounds. It argues that common sense turns to evidence; it implies that a police officer who stops and searches a suspected person has no returns from their efforts by using race or ethnicity to apprehend offenders, and the hit rate of criminality is low. It means that racial profiling corresponds to the offender’s ability to adapt racial characteristics and its failure. Second, the argument is questioned on its normative grounds . As assumed to be empirically true, the cost outweighs the gain of apprehending more criminals using the racial profiling. Alternatively, there is a level of constraints, human rights against discrimination. The prohibition of using the racial profiling as stated in the guidance about the use of race by the law enforcement agencies that, the law enforcement tactic is desirable in higher hit rates for offenders. The last, it is objected that the increase in the hit rate of offenders as the result of using racial profiling equals to the decreasing number of offenders. Elaborately, this argument demonstrates that the use of racial profiling of some minorities can lead to the decrease of offending patterns. However, it implies that the majority can make more offends because they are searched less. The majority is larger than the minority Regarding the Use of Race by numerically, and the elasticity of offends of the minority to policing is the less targeted group than the majority. It shows that there is an increase in efficiency of the racial profiling that results in the increase of the overall crime.

Conclusion

Racial profiling in policing is a very controversial issue. Perceived notions of racial profiling in law enforcement could have a profound negative effect on citizen attitudes toward police enforcers. It is suggested that the law enforcement agencies should not use racial profiling as their direct tactic to apprehend offenders or criminals. Through the guidance regarding the use of race and ethnicity as provided by the Department of Justice, the misconducts of some of the police officers will be changed for the better. The fair law enforcement practices lead to smart and effective law enforcement practices. The stability and appropriate use of racial profiling will eliminate the incident happened to Garner and to other people in the society. Lastly, accountability plays a significant role towards the integrity of the government law enforcement agencies. In addition, the police enforcers’ relationship with the citizens and the public are all well as they sworn to protect the people.

Works Cited

American Civil Liberties Union. About Us: American Civil Liberties Union. 2014. Web. January 2015. <https://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/racial-profiling>.
Bell, Gina Castle, et al. "Exploring Black And White Accounts Of 21St-Century Racial Profiling: Riding And Driving While Black." Qualitative Research Reports In Communication 15.1 (2014): 33-42. Academic Search Complete. Web. January 2015.
Brune, Tom and Nicole Fuller. "Major protests over police planned for Washington, New York." Newsday 12 December 2014: 1-8. Web. January 2015. <http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/michael-brown-eric-garner-protesters-to-march-in-washington-new-york-1.9709569>.
Destefano, Anthony M. and Nicole Fuller. "Eric Garner grand jury decision: No indictment of Officer Daniel Pantaleo in chokehold death, DA says." Newsday 6 December 2014: 1-13. Web. January 2015. <http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/eric-garner-chokehold-case-nypd-officer-daniel-pantaleo-doesn-t-face-charges-1.9676351>.
Horwitz, Sari. "Justice Dept. announces new rules to curb racial profiling by federal law enforcement." The Washington Post 8 December 2014: 1-4. 16 January 2015. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-dept-to-announce-new-rules-to-curb-racial-profiling-by-federal-law-enforcement/2014/12/07/e00eca18-7e79-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html>.
NYPD Publicly Executes Eric Garner For Illegal Cigarettes. TheAdviseShowTV. 2014. YouTube. January 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-xHqf1BVE4>.
Ryberg, Jesper. "Racial Profiling And Criminal Justice." Journal Of Ethics 15.1/2 (2011): 79-88. Academic Search Complete. Web. January 2015.
Thompson, Rebekah M. Racial profiling in law enforcement and its effects on citizen attitudes toward police. Ann Arbor, Tennessee, United States: ProQuest, 2008. UMI Dissertation Publishing. Web. January 2015. <http://search.proquest.com/docview/89291394>.