Day: March 16, 2017

The underlying debate of racial profiling is essentially how much do we sacrifice and compromise on for the sake of national security. Do we scrutinize some people more than others for the sake of our communities and society or do we treat everyone on equal footing regardless of religion, race, gender etc. While the latter sounds more fitting for a democratic country and is certainly more socially acceptable, there is credible evidence that minority groups such as Hispanics and blacks tend to have a higher rate crime than the average white person. Therefore, given the racial disparities in criminal activity, it is logical for police officers/ law enforcers to practice “racial profiling” in order to effectively provide protection for those communities.

I think the real problem of racial profiling is the feelings of distrust and degradation that arise from this type of proactive policing, whether it be between citizens or between police officers and the subjected minorities.  However, this is something that naturally stems from this practice. In a similar vein, law enforcers are faced with the problem of either being called a racists or not protecting the community enough. Moreover, in times of crisis and fear such as the attack on the twin towers, the Orlando shooting etc, community members request more police protection and better security; overall this issue is difficult to know where to draw the line.

Nonetheless, it is important to remember that we are one country, built by immigrants, minorities, different religions and cultures, which ultimately built our nation to what it is today. Our differences can divide us or they can open our minds to new ideas and cultures and make us a more accepting nation.

(Note to the Reader: Based on the language presented in the Racial Profiling section of the Eighth Edition of Urban Issues: Selections from CQ Researcher,  crime in this article refers to blue collar crime such as burglary or other property crimes, theft crimes, sex crimes, assault, and drug crimes.)

It is without any doubt that racial profiling exists throughout the American law enforcement agencies. I’ve seen it myself around my neighborhood. But one’s view on the quantity in which racial profiling exists can change based on the lens one uses. There are different statistics one can use to define the un-balanced ratio  between whites stopped by law enforcement and minorities stopped by law enforcement. By changing the data lens, one will still see that racial profiling is prevalent, but may be more in tune to why that is and what are better ways to manage it.

In the Racial Profiling section of the Eighth Edition of Urban Issues: Selections from CQ Researcher, Heather McDonald is quoted saying, “Police actions continue to be measure against population ratios instead of crime ratios. The relevant measure is not overall population ratios but where crime is happening and where officers are more likely to be encountering criminal forces.” One cannot compare arrests to population for a simple, logical, and mathematical reason: there is no basis to say that crime occurs at an equal rate, or at an equal magnitude, among demographics. With that in mind, a ratio made from arrest and crime data, one could argue, will more accurately represent the levels of racial profiling within law enforcement.

When one changes the data used to determine these ratios, racial profiling is still evidently prevalent, however, there is a little more logic to it. It makes more sense to stop a Mexican near the border than a white man in suspicion of smuggling. But what could be a more efficient way to determine who to stop?

Something I would suggest is training officers in body language to help better spot suspicious individuals. In Israel, police and soldiers are taught how to spot dangerous individuals based on how those individuals carry themselves, walk, look around, etc. While American law enforcement isn’t necessarily dealing with terror threats, or even violence at all in some cases, these skills still transfer over. Most people who commit a crime, especially anyone in middle of committing a crime, will stand out from the crowd to a trained eye. And perhaps, with training the eyes of the law enforcement, we can help lower the number of instances where cops stop an individual solely because of race.