Free Essay on Racial Profiling as the Public Policy Concern

One of the most burning issues of public policy concern is racial profiling. It is of great concern since race is being employed as a basis for in police stops and in also some cases in police pursuit to search, interrogate and make arrests. This type of activity is continuously being referred to as racial profiling. There is increasingly concern on racial prejudice. Police officer continuous discrimination is drawing attention.

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It is clear that racial profiling is a contentious matter in law enforcement. Especially, in light of the U.S police-citizens race arguments. This debate has been heated up and is not being settled anytime soon unless its solutions are reached. Its exponents are in the view that it is a mechanism to counter criminal activity among particular racial groups. On the other hand, critics consider it because it fuels racial disgraces and is, therefore, massively ineffectual as a mechanism for policing.

Racial profiling has raised serious anxiety in the contemporary society. A good number of states including the U.S have delved into the study and research on how ethnicity has facilitated in stops by law enforcement in their jurisdiction.

Racial profiling entails singling out an individual for particular attention with regards to the individuals ethnicity or race. It is normally law-enforced. Racial profiling has been a challenge in the quest to fight and safeguard the civil rights of the marginalized and minority in the society.

The majority of law enforcements officers, take, for instance, Canada and the US use racial profiling as a way of profiling criminal behavior (Scpayot, n.d.). This has posed a setback in the pursuit to solve challenges and problems that arise as a result of this absurd practice. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states points out on protection against unreasonable search and seizure, declares racial profiling illegal (Ayres, 2002).

In all aspects where racial profiling is of grave concern, there exists a sort of power disparity between perpetrators (law enforcement individuals) apparently who quite often than not, belong to the majority group and the targets (victims) who undoubtedly belong to the marginalized minority group (Kelly, 1993). Exponents of the so-called racial profiling, in many instances, contend that it offers law enforcement with a critically valuable mechanism. On the other hand, adversaries postulate that it is unbearable and is essentially a violation of human rights, human values, and human dignity (Kelly, 1993).

In the criminal justice system, communities that are exposed to racial profiling are illegally scrutinized, disproportionately represented and also unjustly over-policed. A school of thought argues that it is as a result of stereotypes that are emphasized in individual communities, and they further argue that as a consequence of this, it leads to extensive stereotyping.

The victims in most cases lack the autonomy to defend themselves. They are unreasonable, halted, scrutinized, subjected to unjustified force, and held in custody and in severe cases killed due to being presumed to be a serious threat to security and law enforcement.

Not only is racial profiling is a nuisance that is gaining widespread, but also it is an important law enforcement challenge that has been at the forefront of discussions. This practice is a clear desecration of civil rights of the U.S citizens and Canadian citizens and also other nations and states. It has both effects on civilians and also affects the effectiveness of law enforcements. Efforts put in place to tackle racial profiling have proven to be ineffective due to uncertain facts and finding and also due to inadequate transparency on the side of law enforcement.

In my opinion, I firmly believe that racial profiling has not been proven as an effective policing strategy. It does not fight terrorism, crime and theft cases effectively. It is due to the fact that much innocent individual form distinct ethnic backgrounds are faultily accused, apprehended, tortured, and even interrogated on unclear grounds. In the long run, those who should be brought to the book may slip away due to lack of keenness on inquiries. It encourages skepticism about how the law should be enforced. Moreover, it promotes cynicism about the judicial culture of that particular society which in return makes the racialized community ignore corporation as far as investigations are concerned. . The purpose of this term paper is to affirm that racial profiling is unnecessary and must be rejected as a means of profiling criminal activity.

While some disagree that racial profiling occurs in the society and argue that those who accept that there is a major problem are misinformed, others on the other side agrees that racial profiling continues to be part of police tool. A study shows that in the Canada the Black and Aboriginal men were subject to unbearable police interrogation as compared to other groups. A report that was published in December 1995 by a Canadian Ambassador categorically portrayed the extensively spread racial profiling among the blacks.

Racial profiling in the US has resulted in penalties for many law enforcement agencies.

The U.S Constitution is a comprehensive and well-written legal guideline that serves to protect the people from the abusive government at all costs. Many constitutions like one for The U.S act as the ultimate supreme law of the land. Racial profiling has been in the limelight, and it has drawn predominant attention. Schools of thought are seeking to research on the cause, effects, and possible solutions to racial profiling (Whyte, 2008).

It is also envisaged in the U.S Constitution provision of Fourteenth Amendment that the must give the citizens with due process. It entails issuing fairgrounds to the people.

In the U.S, any law enforcement agency that purports to establish policies that approve of racial profiling blatantly infringes on the rights of the people as per the fourteenth amendment (Meeks, 2000).

Racial profiling serves to break the bonds that exist between the peaceful community and law. O'Reilly developed a new technique in law enforcement. It has been termed as community-based policing (Oreilly, 2002). In his definition, O'Reilly described community-based policing as an efficient method where a law enforcement agent would be designated for a particular group, and this police would work with local leaders while the police with expertise would be equipped and assigned to administrative roles.

Despite the adversative influence of the above topic on community and at the individual level, a school of thought argues that it is worth practicing (Cairns, Berger & Eisenberg, 2009). This thought believes that the efficient use of racial profiling is in light with the fight against terrorism. They point out that crimes are committed strangely by particular ethnic groups in the community. It is within this school of thought that some high profiled the individuals even within law enforcement agencies will support (Batson et al., 2007).

The proponents of racial profiling quite often than note are in line with statistics that portrays inequality within races concerning criminal activities. A study in the US cites statistics portraying black to have a bigger tendency for criminal discourse and is frequently hostile towards police than their white counterparts. Certainly, data claims that twenty times are blacks more likely to be offenders. There is more evidence in the same course that blacks are more likely to be non-corporative and disrespectful towards police. A more similar study in Columbia portrayed thirty-nine percent of marijuana growers suspects were Vietnamese. However, the above are just results of a study of mere suspects and should not be misinterpreted.

Research Design

The study and research procedures for this term paper was acquired from internet materials, books, research papers, articles, professional journals, newspapers among others on racial profiling. Racial profiling data was also collected from police departments.

A case study was established of five white law enforcement agent (police) and five black officers that are employed by the police department. The case study developed illustrated that some police or law enforcement agents of different and same depicted racial prejudice against the marginalized minorities.

Also, a case study on the traffic police was established. This case study helps to ascertain the level of police injustice and role of police actions in perpetuating racial profiling in the U.S.

The scenario presented to the officers entailed:

You are interrupted by a group of individuals running and screaming; notably you get three gun shots. On keen observations; you realize black male running after the white person. What are the actions that you will take as a law enforcement agent?

All the police officers had a similar retort. The police officers surprisingly stated that they would pursue the black man who was running to get the white man.

Unfortunately, the black man was a police who was apparently not in duty. He decided to chase after the white man who was suspected to have robbed a woman on the streets after firing into the air.

Research Findings

The findings of this study are that racial profiling should be avoided at all costs. It should be abandoned by law enforcement agencies such as the police with no prejudice, no, fear, and no favor. This term paper demystifies certain reasons as to why racial profiling is not bearable. It provided a reason as to why racial profiling should be precluded as a way of the authentic method of profile criminal behavior ('The many costs of racism', 2003). The case study of black man hunting down the white male illustrates prejudice. It indicates irrational jurisdiction. It also serves to portray that the police are just but human beings who also fall victim of culpability. The law enforcement officers can also have racial partiality.

The findings of this term paper validate that law execution bodies must not relent in the fight against racial profiling (Meeks, 2000). In solving the challenge of racial profiling, there is a need for a clear framework. There is a need for police and law enforcement departments to establish proper proactive approach put in place rather than reactive technique.

Discussion of Research Findings

As illustrated earlier, racial profiling is one of the most crucial civil rights issues facing the society today. It affects people of various colors, race, among others. The essence is that it affects both direct victims and indirect victims. The people have lost trust in the accountability and integrity of law enforcement agencies due to racial profiling. This is mostly seen in the communities that are in dire need of law enforcements. In the perspective of traffic stops, racial profiling is depicted as the essence of the officers practicing harsh measures in stopping, interrogating and searching or even making arrests of the motorists based on their race and color.

Justice to all should be fair and free from prejudice and any form of bias practice by the law enforcement agencies. Emphasis is placed on the ground that justice is fair, and equality should be the basis for administering it. It is for the benefit of the citizens irrespective of class, age, national origin, color, race or background.

Moreover, the police and law enforcement agencies in totality must facilitate justice...