Racial Profiling Vs. the Law

Racial profiling is a topic that is highly debated in modern society, with many who support it and some who are against it. Regardless of what people think, racial profiling has brought a great deal of contention and violence among ethnic social affairs. This is particularly evident when inconveniences ascend between the police and the general society. Some real life occurrences concerning racial profiling is when police make unreasonable arrests towards non-white individuals for illegitimate reasons. As racism continues to plague society and influence the Department of Justice, the number of colored people being incarcerated each year is drastically increasing. This is an issue since most of those arrests made by law enforcement officials are unjustifiable and sometimes even questionable. Law enforcement officials do more harm than good by racial profiling citizens that they pledge to serve and protect. Going off the prompt, three module articles that root against racial profiling to be used as an essential tactic for law enforcement are Jim Crow Policing by Bob Herbert, The secret surveillance of suspicious' blacks in one of the nation's poshest neighborhoods by Terrence McCoy and Rights and Wrongs by Jeffrey Toobin. In addition, two research articles that also support this argument are Family accuses Safeway of racial profiling by Kevin Forestieri and Racial profiling has destroyed public trust in police. Cops are exploiting our weak laws against it by Ranjana Natarajan. In both the module and research articles, it discusses about how racial profiling has lead to police brutality, unfair accusation of minorities committing a crime, and creating trust issues between law enforcement officials and the community. In Herbert's Jim Crow Policing and Natarajan's Racial profiling has destroyed public trust in police. Cops are exploiting our weak laws against it, it argues against police officers stopping innocent people due to their race and implementing violence when fighting crime. In McCoy's The secret surveillance of suspicious' blacks in one of the nation's poshest neighborhoods and Forestieri's Family accuses Safeway of racial profiling, it showcases real life occurrences of minorities getting falsely accused of a potential crime by white folks. Lastly, in Natarajan's article and Toobin's Rights and Wrongs, it describes real life events where the police is the dishonest one, losing the people's trust. Additionally, racial profiling is unlawful, damaging the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equivalent insurance to all under the law and opportunity from irrational inquiries. Based on an analysis of strong textual evidence and the conducted research, it is clear that racial profiling is an unnecessary policing strategy because it causes the lives of innocent people to become endangered.

An indication that disproves the claim that racial profiling is an essential tactic centers on the idea that it gives police officers the ease to harass colored people. In Jim Crow Policing, Bob Herbert demonstrates this by arguing how Jim Crow policing is terrorizing the lives of innocent people who have done nothing wrong. In this article, it is clear by his tone and word choice, that Herbert is pestered by how frequently black and Hispanic individuals are harrassed and bothered by cops. A quote that supports this argument is The fact that a certain percentage of criminals may be black or Hispanic is no reason for the police to harass individuals from those groups when there is no indication whatsoever that they have done anything wrong (Herbert par. 14). This quote is mainly directed towards individuals who support racial profiling as a law authorization strategy and to cops who target individuals to stop and harass, dependent on their race. Moreover, it is trying to communicate to the audience that discrimination among certain races is immoral because a person's traits should not be determined by their ethnicity. One thing is to target a person because they are at fault of a crime and another is to oppress them due to their race without proof of them having done anything wrong. It also brings to the attention that the majority of those delinquents were either black or Hispanic, transforming it into an obscure demonstration from the law's part. Notwithstanding how shady a police officers' work appears to colored individuals, it is no reason for the police to harass and humiliate them just because they have the power and authority to do as such. Aside from this text is another research article that supports this argument.

An additional source is Racial profiling has destroyed public trust in police. Cops are exploiting our weak laws against it. The author, Ranjana Natarajan also supports this by arguing how racial profiling prompts viciousness, particularly from the police and that it must stop. In this article, it expresses that police fierceness is an issue since it discourages colored folks from wanting to contact and receive assistance from the police. This is on account that the police will betray them as opposed to executing the issue that was called for. The following quote supports this claim by reporting that Excessive force and racial profiling are two destructive modes of police misconduct that require concerted, vigilant action to reduce and eliminate. While racial profiling can end in tragic police killings of unarmed individuals, [...] it also results in many unnecessary stops and searches, harassment and intimidation, and even confiscation of property without due process (Natarajan par. 12). This quote addresses some of the consequences that take place when racial profiling and violence are paired up. While it may be true that most suspects happen to be black or Latino, it does not justify for the harassment and intimidation police officers impose on colored people along with unnecessary stops and searches. Sadly, it does not end there as racial profiling has gone as far as to the confiscation of property from unfortunate colored individuals. As the quote suggests, racial profiling should be reduced and eliminated for everyone's safety and also to stop police officers who have engaged in utilizing excessive force when capturing the culprit. The focal point in both textual evidences is that singling out an individual based on their race is unethical and combining that with violence does nothing else but cause a bigger catastrophe.

Secondly, the use of racial profiling as a law enforcement strategy is invalid in that it results into white people falsely accusing a minority of a possible illicit act. In The secret surveillance of suspicious' blacks in one of the nation's poshest neighborhoods, Terrence McCoy supports this by arguing how the media and public stores are continually reporting suspicious individuals or clients who happen to be black more often than not.The author is endeavoring to wipe out that bad conception that white individuals have over African Americans about them looking suspicious or in attempt to carry out a wrongdoing. This article is attempting to debilitate the utilization of media with the motivation behind racially profiling individuals and to connect with customers and representatives at stores to quit expecting that something awful is going to happen because a black person is shopping or searching for something. This can be proven when it states, Suspicious shoppers in store [...] All African American. [...] The retailers have also uploaded hundreds of pictures to the chatroom [...] the images have shown more than 230 shoppers, more than 90 percent of whom are African American [...] And quite often when people describe the perpetrators of those crimes, they're usually young men of color. But that doesn't mean every person of color is an automatic suspect. (McCoy, par. 24). This statement is saying that no one has the right to call out and immediately assume that a person is a delinquent due to their race and especially if they have done nothing illegal. Just because an African American crowd enters a store, it does not necessarily indicate that they are suspicious shoppers. By retailers uploading hundreds of pictures to the chatroom, it makes them seem more suspicious than those people they are accusing because what reason would the utilization of media be important if there is nothing obscure to be found. Oftentimes, when individuals depict the offenders of those wrongdoings, they're usually young men of color which requires the consideration that minorities have an unfair advantage by their white counterparts. Furthermore, it is despicable for anyone to believe that a person of color is an automatic suspect because even though particular ethnic groups are notorious for specific attributes, is no reason to pick on them. In addition to this reading, there is another research article that portrays a similar message.

In the text, Family accuses Safeway of racial profiling, Kevin Forestieri demonstrates this by arguing how racial profiling results into white individuals erroneously blaming a minority family for a conceivable illegal act. This article portrays an African American family living in the Bay Area who go on a mission of helping local homeless people. However, somewhere along their trip, the mother of the family, Erika Martin, finds herself blocked by a police car, where she was stopped for questioning. It turns out that the Martin family were falsely accused of being thieves by store employees in front of the grocery store they were parked in front of. The police did not do much after all and went on, but the family were still upset about the incident. A quote that illustrates the frustration of the Martin family is The well-intentioned trip soured, however, when Martin found herself blocked into her parking space by a police car and questioned by officers. Employees at the grocery store had called in a possible theft in progress, and Martin and her family members found themselves the suspects in the investigation. [...] Police officers described the interaction as friendly [...] But Martin and her family members say they are upset over what they believe is just one of multiple racial profiling incidents they have faced while living in the Bay Area (Forestieri par. 4). This quote showcases what can be expected to happen whenever whites spot non-white audiences and are doubtful about something bad to go down. More specifically, it is conveying that incidents like the one mentioned before are one of many scenarios of racial profiling that happen on a regular basis towards minorities. Based on the quote and the argument, it was deceitful for the employees to wrongfully assume that a possible theft [is] in progress just because the people depicted were black. Not only was the report bogus, but also called for unreasonable questioning by officers who then described the interaction as friendly. Of course, white individuals do not see what the whole fuss is about this situation. However, the Martin family were bothered by it and conveyed that this tragedy is only one of multiple racial profiling incidents that they have encountered. All in all, racial profiling a minority is a felony of its own and anyone who falsely accuses another person of a criminal act based on their ethnic background should be the one to be announced guilty.

Lastly, police officers' use of racial profiling is incorrect because it destroys the trust people have for them. In Rights and Wrongs, Jeffrey Toobin proves this by arguing that the law has taken away African American citizens' rights by not putting an end to unfair stop-and-frisks. Due to this problem, people have lost all trust in a police's work, making their activity and administration less dependable to the general society. In the article, Judge Scheindlin shares some of her most notorious cases she's held and most of them involve an black person getting stopped or even arrested by the police for no good reason. This is evident when it conveys, In decision after decision, she has found that cops have lied, discriminated against people of color, and violated the rights of citizens (Toobin par.4). This quote exemplifies how even a judge who is thought to work together with the law enforcement officials is at times, skeptical of the words that are testified by a police officer whose job is to promote peace and protect the environment. Learning from her previous experiences, Judge Scheindlin has uncovered the ugly truth that cops have lied to her face with the intention of screwing over the guiltless victim. Along with this, Scheindlin has noticed in some police officers to have discriminated against people of color and violated the rights of citizens. This concerns Scheindlin because her job is to prevent occurrences like these from happening and expanding, which causes innocent people to suffer and lose trust with the law. Additionally, there is another source that furthers this dispute.

Another text by Ranjana Natarajan that argues how police officers across the U.S. have lost public trust due to their unjust democratic values is Racial profiling has destroyed public trust in police. Cops are exploiting our weak laws against it. This reading challenges the claim of racial profiling being an essential tactic for law enforcement officials to use since it has been proven that some police officers are using illegitimate reasons to stop innocent colored people, ultimately destroying the bond between the two parties. A quote that touches upon this issue is, Profiling undermines public safety and strains police-community trust. When law enforcement officers target residents based on race, religion or national origin rather than behavior, crime-fighting is less effective and community distrust of police grows (Natarajan par. 6). This quote establishes the main reasons for why the police's connection with general society is deteriorating. In relation to this, the disturbance of public safety is crucial because the act of police officers stopping individuals for the wrong reasons is jeopardizing everyone's well-being. Whenever police officers stop citizens due to race, religion or national origin rather than behavior, their work loses credibility which strains police-community trust. As community distrust of police grows, police officers with time will be left with little duty because their communication and reputation with the community will drown them. In both quotes, it touches upon the unfair treatment that minorities receive from police officers and how this is destroying their mutual relationship.

Based on an evaluation of solid printed proof and directed research, obviously racial profiling is a pointless policing methodology since it makes the lives of guiltless individuals to be misconceived. Racial profiling has brought a lot of dispute and brutality among ethnic gatherings. Some genuine events concerning racial profiling is when the police victimizes people of color to humiliate, harass and bring about alarming imprisonments. As modern civilization continues to function under a prejudice mindset, more captures of minorities by law officers become unforgiving and in some cases even faulty. The three main points that are a result of racial profiling is that it induces police ruthlessness, uncalled for allegation of minorities carrying out a wrongdoing, and separation between the law and the public. Police officers who incorporate violence in their work when dealing with minorities is unfair because they do not put it into effect when handling a situation featuring white people. In addition, people making fraudulent statements or reports on non-white individuals is a big deal because it shatters those people's self worth and causing more chaos. Also, police officers need to get a grip when serving the community because part of the reason their demand of services is draining is due to their lost of trust to public. In sum, law enforcement authorities are accomplishing more mischief than anything in the communities they serve by racial profiling nationals because it undermines national security and creates tension among different ethnic groups.

Work Cited

Bob Herbert -

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/02/opinion/02herbert.html

Terrence McCoy - https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/the-secret-surveillance-of-suspicious-blacks-in-one-of-the-nations-poshest-neighborhoods/2015/10/13/2e47236c-6c4d-11e5-b31c-d80d62b53e28_story.html?utm_term=.4b42dbae77da

Kevin Forestieri -

https://mv-voice.com/news/2018/07/26/family-accuses-safeway-of-racial-profiling

Jeffrey Toobin -

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/27/rights-and-wrongs-2

Ranjana Natarajan- https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/15/racial-profiling-has-destroyed-public-trust-in-police-cops-are-exploiting-our-weak-laws-against-it/?utm_term=.0c5f14b0320d

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