Jonah Patel
Racial profiling is a discriminatory practice employed by law enforcement officials, where individuals are targeted as suspects in a crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin, rather than on individual behaviour or reasonable suspicion. While racial profiling has been declared unconstitutional in the US, as it violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, criminal profiling is often used by law enforcement agencies to apprehend criminals. Criminal profiling involves creating a suspect profile based on evidence, including the suspect's age, gender, race, and possible employment, to narrow down the group of suspects. However, racial profiling relies solely on stereotypes and generalisations about specific races or ethnicities, and it has been a concern in various countries, including the US, Germany, and Mexico.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | Racial profiling is the use of race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin, rather than individual behaviour, to suspect someone of a crime. |
| Legal Status | Racial profiling has been declared unconstitutional in the US, as it violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. However, criminal profiling, which includes race or ethnicity in a suspect's description, is legal. |
| Examples | Police using race to determine who to stop for minor traffic offences; immigration enforcement targeting specific immigrant groups without evidence of criminal activity. |
| Impact | Racial profiling negatively impacts communities by confirming feelings of racism and disempowering those targeted. It also undermines trust in law enforcement. |
| Detection | Racial profiling can be detected by analysing statistics: if searches of one ethnic group yield little evidence of illegal activity, they may indicate racial profiling. |
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What You'll Learn
Racial profiling vs criminal profiling
Racial profiling has been a contentious issue in the US for many years, with a long history of racist policing rooted in slavery and segregationist 'Jim Crow' laws. It is defined as any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national origin of a person, rather than their behaviour or information that leads to an individual identified as having been engaged in criminal activity. It is often confused with criminal profiling, which is legal and used by law enforcement to apprehend criminals. Criminal profiling involves statistical categorisation based on identifiable characteristics believed to correlate with certain behaviours, such as serial killer profiles.
Racial profiling is considered illegal and unconstitutional, violating the US Constitution's 14th Amendment's equal protection clause. It is not an effective policing method and drives a wedge between communities and law enforcement officers, destroying public trust and reducing police effectiveness. Despite this, racial profiling is still prevalent, with 41% of Black Americans reporting they have been stopped or detained by police due to their race.
Criminal profiling, on the other hand, is a legal practice used by police agencies and the FBI. It involves creating a profile of a suspect based on evidence from previous crimes, including age range, gender, race, and possible employment, to narrow down suspects. While criminal profiling is legal, it must be used with caution to avoid problems and concerns.
Narrow definitions of racial profiling describe situations where actions are based solely on a person's race or ethnicity. This has allowed police forces to deny its existence, as activities can be legally justifiable but still racially biased, such as pretext traffic stops. Broader definitions acknowledge that decisions are usually based on multiple factors, including race, and that racial profiling may occur regardless of deliberate policy or routine institutional practices.
The line between racial and criminal profiling can be blurry, as officers do use profiling based on actionable intelligence, which may include race as one of many criteria. However, true racial profiling, where people are targeted solely based on race or ethnicity, is illegal and immoral, and efforts are being made to reduce its occurrence, such as through the proposed End Racial Profiling Act of 2001 and the use of video cameras in patrol cars.
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The legality of racial profiling
Racial profiling is a discriminatory practice employed by law enforcement officials. It involves targeting individuals as suspects based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin, rather than on individual behaviour or evidence. While racial profiling has been declared unconstitutional in the United States, as it violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause, it is not always easy to identify and address.
Narrow definitions of racial profiling describe situations where actions are based solely on a person's race or ethnicity. Under this definition, police forces can deny the existence of racial profiling by justifying their actions on other, legally valid grounds, even if those actions are racially biased. Broader definitions, on the other hand, acknowledge that decisions are usually based on multiple factors, including race. This wider view reflects the reality that racial profiling may occur regardless of whether it is a deliberate policy or an institutional practice.
Racial profiling can manifest in various ways, such as disproportionate stop-and-searches, traffic stops, and the use of facial recognition technology. It is often confused with criminal profiling, which is legal and used by law enforcement agencies to identify suspects based on a range of factors, including age, gender, race, and employment status. Criminal profiling relies on statistical categorisation and actual behaviour or suspected activity, whereas racial profiling relies on flawed notions about race and crime, assuming a correlation between race and criminal propensity.
To address racial profiling, law enforcement agencies need to implement comprehensive training and policies that prohibit such practices. By promoting fairness and justice, agencies can work to regain the trust of citizens who have been affected by this discriminatory practice.
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History of racist policing
The United States has a long history of racist policing, rooted in slavery and the enforcement of segregationist 'Jim Crow' laws. The current understanding of racial profiling can be traced back to the 'drug courier profile' created in the mid-1980s by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) as part of the 'war on drugs'. The DEA trained local law enforcement officials to look for 'indicators', including race, nervousness, or the use of rental vehicles. Despite a lack of evidence that African Americans and Latinos were more likely to use or transport drugs, the DEA's training materials predominantly featured minority faces. This led to the widespread targeting of minorities for traffic stops, searches, and fines, which became embedded in policing policies across the country.
One example of racist policing occurred in the summer of 1967 in Detroit. Protests erupted after the police arrested patrons of an illegal after-hours bar in a mostly Black neighbourhood. Over five days of protests, 43 people were killed, 1,189 were injured, and 7,200 were arrested. President Lyndon B. Johnson sent in the National Guard and the U.S. Army, and a subsequent commission found that the root causes of the uprising included disinvestment in Black communities, Black powerlessness, and how police "symbolize white power, white racism, and white repression".
Another incident illustrating the history of racist policing in the U.S. dates back to 1919 on Lake Michigan. A white man threw rocks at a Black boy whose boat had drifted to the "wrong" side of the lake, resulting in the boy's drowning. Protests broke out across the city, and a commission appointed by Governor Frank Lowden found that "Negroes are more commonly arrested, subjected to police identification, and convicted than white offenders."
In more recent times, the police killings in Ferguson, Missouri, and other U.S. cities have highlighted racial profiling and police violence. The shooting of Michael Brown in 2014 sparked protests and drew attention to the longstanding abuse of police powers. The Department of Justice's investigation revealed that African-American drivers were more likely to be stopped, searched, cited, arrested, and receive multiple citations during single incidents. This practice is colloquially known as 'DWB' or 'driving while black or brown'.
Since September 11, 2001, Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim, and South Asian communities have been subjected to discriminatory profiling by law enforcement. Additionally, federal agencies have used race, ethnicity, national origin, and religious beliefs to target Asian Americans, particularly Chinese American scientists and academics. This has contributed to an atmosphere of fear and a dramatic increase in hate crimes against people of colour.
The murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and Trayvon Martin have further shone a bright light on the issues of racial inequality and racist policing in the United States. These incidents have sparked nationwide protests and activism, drawing attention to the systemic racism and police brutality faced by communities of colour.
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How to identify racial profiling
Racial profiling is a discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials. It involves targeting individuals as suspects in a crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin, rather than on individual behaviour or reasonable suspicion. While criminal profiling is often used by law enforcement agencies to apprehend criminals, racial profiling is illegal and a violation of the US Constitution's 14th Amendment equal protection clause.
- Patterns of profiling: Racial profiling often manifests in discriminatory treatment after a stop has occurred, such as decisions to search, conduct more intrusive searches, issue citations, or make arrests. This can be identified by looking at patterns of behaviour by law enforcement towards certain racial groups. For example, in the United States, African-American drivers are more likely to be stopped, searched, cited, and arrested, and more likely to receive multiple citations during single incidents. This is colloquially known as being stopped and cited for the offence of "DWB" – "driving while black or brown".
- Racial disparities in data: Examining data collected by law enforcement agencies can reveal racial disparities in stops, searches, arrests, and other police actions. For example, if statistics show that officers are finding little evidence of illegal activity in searches of one ethnic group, while there is a high hit rate for another group, this may indicate racial profiling. However, it is important to note that local police departments patrolling high-crime areas with high minority populations may argue that high numbers of stops or searches are related to the level of crime rather than race.
- Negative stereotypes and assumptions: Racial profiling relies on stereotypes about race, colour, ethnicity, ancestry, or religion, rather than on individual behaviour or reasonable suspicion. For example, immigration enforcement officials may target Asian, Middle Eastern, or Muslim immigrants for detention without any evidence of criminal activity, based on assumptions about their national origin or religious beliefs.
- Selective enforcement: Racial profiling can involve selective enforcement or prosecution based on race or ethnicity, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This may include disproportionate stop-and-searches, traffic stops, or the use of surveillance technology for facial identification targeting specific racial groups.
- Denial of individual rights: Racial profiling results in the denial of individual rights, such as the right to equal treatment, freedom from discrimination, and protection from unreasonable search and seizure. Victims of racial profiling may feel disempowered and hesitant to trust or rely on law enforcement.
It is important to note that racial profiling can occur de jure, when state policies target specific racial groups, or de facto, when the practice occurs outside official legislation. It can also be challenging to prove, as courts may consider the use of race in law enforcement actions legal if there is a high hit rate of finding criminal activity, regardless of whether race was a factor.
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The impact of racial profiling
Racial profiling has a significant and far-reaching impact on individuals, communities, and society as a whole. It perpetuates systemic racism and has been described as "almost second nature" in the United States, with a long history of racist policing rooted in slavery and segregationist "Jim Crow" laws. The consequences of racial profiling are felt in various aspects of life, including health, employment, and public safety.
Health Consequences
Racial profiling has been linked to long-term health problems for minority groups, including high rates of chronic diseases. The constant stress of facing discrimination and the fear of being targeted can have detrimental effects on mental and physical well-being. This is further exacerbated by the trauma of police violence, which has been reported by a significant proportion of Black Americans.
Economic Impact
Racial profiling also affects economic opportunities and outcomes. Studies have found that racial discrimination occurs during job interviews, with white interviewers showing bias towards candidates with "stereotypically white names." This results in fewer callbacks and potential job offers for individuals with names associated with minority groups, even when qualifications are comparable. Additionally, racial profiling in lending practices has been documented, with Black, Latino, and Asian customers charged higher car interest rates than their white counterparts, despite similar credit histories.
Community Relations and Public Safety
The practice of racial profiling by law enforcement and private security has severe repercussions for community relations and public safety. It alienates communities of color from law enforcement, hinders community policing efforts, and causes law enforcement to lose credibility and trust. This breakdown in trust can lead to a reluctance to report crimes, seek help, or cooperate with authorities, ultimately compromising public safety for all.
Education and Everyday Life
Racial profiling also impacts education and everyday life. Students of color, particularly those who are Hispanic, Muslim, or Native American, may face questioning about their national origin or citizenship status. Additionally, people of color going about their daily activities, such as shopping, golfing, or moving into a new home, have reported incidents of racial profiling, with the police being called on them without justification. These experiences create a pervasive climate of fear and suspicion, affecting the well-being and freedom of individuals from marginalized communities.
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Frequently asked questions
Racial profiling is a discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials. It involves targeting individuals as suspects in a crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin, rather than on individual suspicion or evidence.
Criminal profiling is legal and often used by law enforcement to apprehend criminals. It involves creating a profile of a suspect based on evidence gathered from previous crimes, including factors such as age range, gender, race, and possible employment, to narrow down the group of suspects. While criminal profiling relies on actual behaviour or information about suspected activity, racial profiling relies on stereotypes and generalisations about race, colour, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.
Racial profiling can be identified through patterns of discriminatory treatment, such as disproportionate stop-and-searches, traffic stops, and the use of surveillance technology for facial identification. It can be proven by examining the "hit rate" of stops that actually lead to criminal activity. If statistics show a low hit rate for searches of a particular ethnic group, it may be indicative of racial profiling.
