Racial Profiling and African American Males



Racial Profiling and African American MalesYour nameClassDateInstructorRacial Profiling and African American MalesRacial Profiling act of 2001 defines racial profiling as The practice of a law enforcement agent relying, to any degree, on race, ethnicity, or national origin in selecting which individuals to subject to routine investigatory activities, or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law enforcement activity following the initial routine investigatory activity, except that racial profiling does not include reliance on such criteria in combination with other identifying factors when the law enforcement agent is seeking to apprehend a specific suspect whose race, ethnicity, or national origin is part of the description of the suspect (Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2002).Profiling takes place when law enforcement agents handle race as the important aspect when determining whom to stop and interrogate or when an officer of the law “investigates a person” because they consider that “members of that person’s racial or ethnic group are more likely than the population at large to commit the kind of crime the officer is investigating. Though profiling is often referenced when dealing with traffic stops, it can be used in any state in which minorities are being stopped by an officer of the law because of their race or ethnicity. Law enforcement officers are profiling built on race any time they stop, question, or look for an individual exclusively because of their race or ethnic. The major problem with profiling is that officers target minorities during their normal routines because they consider minorities are more likely to commit crimes, which in turn is a violation of their rights.Over the past few years racial profiling has become a controversial topic in political, academic, and social arenas. The unbalanced number of racial minorities stopped and investigated throughout the 1990s led to controversy about law enforcement personnel using race as a determinant in whether or not to stop or investigate someone. In United States racial profiling is one of the continues problems. Most of the people states that racial profiling is more established now a days; however, this has been the concern since slavery. For instance, allegations of racial profiling have been expected at security personnel of department stores who suspect African American customers of stealing. Historically, however, accusations of racial profiling have resulted from encounters at traffic stops and have been aimed at local and state police. The impulsion for police traffic stops and searches may be the belief that members of certain minority groups are more likely to be engaged in the unlawful drug trade. In searching for illicit drugs, U.S. Customs agents and Border Patrol officers have been changed with racial profiling as well. On the other hand, why are African Americans males the number one target of this ever-escalating issue? Do African American males have the most criminal record among police statistics and/or the United States Census Bureau or does it have to do with the vehicle they drive, the color of their skin, the amount of occupants in their vehicle, or the traffic violation committed? To determine why there are many controversial problems regarding African American males and racial profiling, we are going to look at racial profiling by police officers; examine the study, research, and statistics behind racial profiling; and how racial profiling influences male African Americans.Racial profiling is established throughout most of the law enforcement community and is not confined to one region of the country. Different races understand treatment from the police in very different ways. For example, Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2002, conducted a survey in 2002 of 1,792 white, African American, and Hispanic United States residents. Thirty seven percent of African Americans and 23 percent of Hispanic surveyed admitted that they feel they have been “treated unfairly” by the police in their own city, but only 1 percent of whites report the same. African Americans and Hispanics were also more likely to report that a member of their household was being treated in an unfair manner by police.Young African American males, in their late and early twenties, are frequently targeted by the police and represent a inconsistent number of arrests. A 1999 Gallup exposed that 72 percent of African American males age 18-34 and 42 percent of African Americans as an entirety belived that they had been stopped because of their race. More specifically, a 1990s study of Maryland's State Troopers evidently confirmed that profiling is a main trouble. Interstate 95, which runs through Maryland, was first analyzed to see what races tend to speed more and it was revealed that all races break the speed limit on a regular basis (Stone, 1999). of the 5,741 recorded observations, African American drivers composed about 17.5 percent of all motorists traveling on the highway and whites composed 74.7 percent of the total. Although, 93.3 percent of white drivers were violating traffic laws, only 19.7 percent were subjected to vehicle searches, while a little over 80 percent of African Americans had their vehicles searched when stopped for speeding.Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2002, performed a study of over 87,000 New Jersey State Police stops made in 1997 and 1998 to resolve the nature of racial profiling in that state. Results of this study confirmed that Hispanics and African Americans made up a large number of traffic stops and searches. Although 60 percent of drivers in the areas were white, African Americans were targeted in over half of all searches and Hispanic in 24 percent. Over 72 percent of stops leading to searches of were of vehicles driven by people of color. When arrests of drivers were made, only 32.5 percent of white motorists were taken into custody, whereas almost 60 percent of African Americans were. With the deficient of equality between racial communities, changes to the police policy were completed to correct the inequality. The conception behind the changes to the policy is to lower the level to that officials can use racial qualities on a person. However, some claim that by forbidding an officer from using some features on a person could reduce the effectiveness of policing and increase criminal activity. Persico (2002) states, “those who engage in certain criminal actions tend to share definite traits connecting to certain socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds” (p.1472). Therefore, giving officers reasoning behind the features of certain motorists. Either way one looks at the issue concerning male African Americans and law enforcement officials there will always be some basic tension and conflicting accusations for the cause that some citizens may argue for equal treatment within the United States laws and others will argue that law enforcement officials are not doing their job as far as crime goes. The principle of law enforcement and the principle of equality among African American males make this issue even more difficult to analyze (Persico, 2002). In accordance to Delores (2007), although, various things in policing have changed as far as policies goes, many things will stay the identical. Changes to the police policy were to improve the image of police in certain communities, and influence citizens in a constructive way through trust and achievement. However, Delores (2007) states, officers perceive African American males as people who are capable of illegal behavior even though a crime has yet to be committed. In addition, in noncriminal or minimal criminal behavior police view male African Americans as the most dangerous. Police officers developed ways to recognize certain kind of people, as symbolic assailants, meaning, police recognize the gesture, garments, language of a person, which is then understand as a prelude to violence. However, sometimes officers make mistakes and innocent citizens like African American males end up paying the definitive price. In 1998, four African American males name Keyshon Moore, Rayshawn Brown, LeRoy Jarmaine Grant and Danny Reyes all fell victims to racial profiling. The four victims were on their way to a basketball audition in hopes of winning a scholarship at Carolina College when White state troopers, James Kenna and John Hogan stop the victims for speeding and upon approach fired 11 shots at the van, hitting Mr. Brown, Grant, and Reyes. The driver Keyshon Moore were the only one not hurt in this incident. Troopers, Kennan and Hogan claim the driver Mr. Moore put the van in reverse upon their approach. The four sued the state of New Jersey and both troopers for shooting without provocation. The victims also claim racial profiling to be the cause of this incident. The state awarded the four men $13 million. Troopers, Kenna and Hogan face charges of misconduct, falsifying records, and aggravated assault. Moreover, trooper Kenna faces charges for attempted murder (Delores, 2007; Jet, 2001). The thought of racial profiling is hard to grasp, especially when police officers are supposed to be there to protect and serve our communities. Racial profiling started back in the 1980s when certain groups were the target of Americans war on drugs. Officers were encouraged to stop and search a specific minority group. However, several years later, police departments had to change their procedures. Therefore, does racial profiling still exist, if so, has anyone once thought how police misconduct affected its victims. According to the United States Law, although, racial profiling is condemned, officers still have the right to seize a person’s property if he or she feels that the person is a suspected drug dealer. Therefore, until there are changes in the seizure laws, racial profiling will continue for years to come. A male African American student, well dress, was on his way to a job interview one morning when Georgia State Patrol pulled him over on I-75 for speeding. Ensuring himself that the pullover should not take that long for he was only speeding. However, before the officer approached his vehicle, he called for backup. When the second patrol car pulled up, officers ordered the driver out of his vehicle and ordered him to set on one of their patrol cars. The officers stated that they were conducting a drug search on the vehicle. During their search one of the officers stated to the driver, “Where did you get the money for this vehicle”? After the driver’s SUV was demolished, officers let the driver go after not finding anything illegal. Once the officers left, the driver sat in his vehicle weeping in humiliation and anger over what had just now happened to him. This is what male African Americans are going through on a daily basis and although, there were changes in police policies, African American males are continuing to be the number one target of police misconduct (Callahan, Anderson, 2005). Racial profiling will continue to be a problem in the United States, even though President Clinton condemned it back in 1999, for the reason that officers will continue to find other ways to get around the system without the use of pretext. According to the Supreme Court in 1996, officers have the right to stop and search a person and investigate possible criminal conduct even if the officer lacks probable cause or reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. For the reason that every driver committees some kind of minor traffic violation. However, does it still give officers the right to target mainly male African Americans? Why do officers feel that African American males are most likely to engage in some kind of criminal activity? Does the reason behind this misconduct have to do the Criminal Justices Census Bureau? No one will know exactly what is behind officer’s misconduct; however, something has to be done to put an end to racial profiling, especially when it states in the constitution that everyone is created equal. ReferencesCallahan, G., & Anderson, W. (2005). Racial profiling unfairly targets minorities. Retrieved on March 9, 2008, from Axia College Online Library: Gale PowerSearch Document. Delores, J. B. (2007). Forever the symbolic assailant: The more things change, the more they remain the same. Criminology & Public Policy. Vol. 6(1), p.103-121. Retrieved on March 8, 2008, from Axia College Online Library: EBSCOhost. Jet. (2001). New jersey to pay $12.9 million to four racial profiling victims. Vol. 99(10), p. 8. Retrieved from Axia College Online Library: EBSCOhost. Persico, N. (2002). Racial profiling, fairness, and effectiveness of policing. Vol. 92(5). Retrieved, from Axia College Online Library: EBSCOhost. Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2002). Perceptions of racial profiling: Race, class, and personal experience. Criminology: George Washington University. Vol. 40(2). Retrieved from Axia College Online Library: EBSCOhost. ................
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