Thursday, October 13, 2011

Police and Racial Profiling




On a daily basis our local police officers help make our community safer. They stop drunk drivers, they "put away" criminals, but since when do they beat suspects almost to their death? Rodney King (Black man) was speeding one night, when police stopped him; he was beaten savagely by four police officers that stopped him. A resident nearby was filming the beating. The next day he gave the tape to the media. In a few days, the news of the four officers beating Rodney King was all over the world. The King case was in 1991. But officers still doing this today for instance this YouTube video shows it still is happening.

According to Oxford English Dictionary racial profiling is defined as discrimination or stereotyping on racial or ethnic grounds. Profiling is a serious injustice to humanity, is an act of racism and discrimination, and is condoned by law enforcement agencies. Profiling is condoned by law enforcement agencies nationwide. Since it is so embedded in the police culture it is almost second nature to them. Most officers probably do not even think what they do is profiling, but when you conduct traffic stops based on ethnicity of the occupants it is profiling.

The opportunities for polices to racial profile is becoming a greater problem in the united states every day. We have laws that are meant to protect the minorities from racial profiling. What I would like to see happen is the police officers that are falling into the category of racial profiling be reproached, and for local government to give the American people their right to be protected from racial profiling. I believe police officers need to be held accountable and responsible for their conduct, making sure that their behavior advances the goals of their department. We can assume police officers work under conditions of low visibility and high decision, which provide them with a great deal of leeway to make decisions. In return, police officer must be able to explain and justify their decisions if they are questioned by supervisors or members of the community.  It is the perception of most police officials that in most agencies a small number of officers may be responsible for a large share of the actions that community members perceive as racially biased. 


What can citizen do if they are racial profile by a police officer?
The Civil Rights attorneys advised the following:

Know your rights:  you are not required to give permission to police officer to search your car.  You can deny the request - but do so politely.
Do not argue:  the police may try to intimidate you.  Do not be confrontational and provoke an argument.
Get the names of the officers:  be sure to get their badge numbers, squad car number, license plate number, and make a note of the location and time of day.
File a complaint if you feel you have been mistreated:  contact the ACLU or other civil rights organizations for legal advice

Sources: Oxford English Dictionary http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/157083?redirectedFrom=racial%20profiling#eid27239881 



Your Rights: What To Do If You're Stopped By Police, Immigration Agents or the FBI  http://www.aclu.org/drug-law-reform-immigrants-rights-racial-justice/know-your-rights-what-do-if-you


YouTube: http://youtu.be/kOaf1UFtDhQ






2 comments:

  1. I think it was a good idea that you put advice for people who potentially could run into racial profiling. Not many people know what to do when something like this happens to them. Racial profiling has been around for a long time and even though people and times are changing this practice probably will never disappear, which is unfortunate because like how pointed out about the King beating, this will always give people a bad view of the police.

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  2. I think the issue involving Rodney King has to do more on the issue of police brutality and not racial profiling. Pulling Rodney King over because he was black would be the more appropriate way of identifying racial profiling. Like you said, the Police pulled him over because he was speeding, not because he was black. Maybe the police brutality was a case of racism, but I do not think they pulled him over because of his race. Whether we like it or not, there is always going to be a way around profiling. For example, officers use a tactic called pretext stops to justify racial profiling.

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