Racial Profiling on the Conduct of Police Officers - Assignment Example

Racial Profiling and the Extent to Which It Raises Ethical Issues about the Conduct of Police Officers Who Engage In That Practice Name: Course: Tutor: What Is Racial Profiling? The term ‘racial profiling’ was not in use until the 1990’s. Before its emergence, the police and state troopers had a routine way of checking cars and this routine turned out to be more focused on the minority (especially the blacks and the Hispanics) than the whites (Kops, 2006). From this, the action of federal police was termed as racial profiling. From a lot of stories, the federal police’s actions can be termed racial profiling. Racial profiling is defined as “the practice of targeting individuals for police or security interdiction, detention or other desperate treatment based primarily on their race or ethnicity in the belief that certain minority groups are more likely to engage in unlawful behavior” (Muffler, 2006, p. 2). Indeed there is racial profiling and some consider it as a necessary evil while others consider it an unnecessary evil. Those who consider it a necessary evil argue that some ethnic groups or races are associated with certain crimes for example, blacks and Hispanics are associated with drug dealing and drug transportation and so would often be stopped to be questioned about drugs and their cars inspected (Orr, 2009). Blacks are also associated with theft so that if one is spotted with an expensive car, chances are that the car is a stolen one and so would often be stopped (Callahan & Anderson, 2001). Muslims or Asians from countries associated with terrorism are also associated with terrorism and would undergo ‘unnecessary’ searches in the name of fighting terrorism. Since these groups are associated with such illegal activities, their races are profiled for those crimes. Those who believe racial profiling is an unnecessary evil argue that it even creates more mistrust and so less information given to the authorities to help cub terrorism, drug trafficking of other crimes that those stereotyped based on ethnicity are purported to commit (Orr, 2009). Why Is Racial Profiling an Ethical Issue? Ethics is a branch of philosophy with right or wrong as the basic concepts and deals with how man is supposed to live with the idea of good. In life when making decisions about situations, on what actions to take, the most important thing to determine is what is right (Pojman & Fieser, 2011). Ethics deals with a proper course of action (Landauer & Rowlands, 2001). So why is racial profiling an ethical issue? There is still no agreement on racial profiling as a right action or a wrong action. It is considered wrong by those who believe it violates the rights of the innocent, and considered right by those who believe it is just a way of effectively dealing with crime. Additionally, considering the definition of racial profiling without involving the police actions, racial profiling is just “categorizing individuals according to their characteristics” (EUAFR, 2010, p.8. So just categorizing someone is not wrong, but thinking of one as a criminal because of the race is wrong. Is Racial Profiling Lawful or Unlawful? Racial profiling as described above, is just categorizing individuals based on their characteristics (which is the race). There are so many reasons why profiling is done especially in fighting crime. It is viewed as common sense in trying to find out offenders. With the right profile, that is, a list of characteristics specific to suspects of a crime, the offenders can be easily apprehended. EUAFR indicates that a more specific profile that does not rely on broad categorizations such as religion, race or ethnicity; has low probability of being discriminatory (2010). It seems therefore, that the police departments that have been accused of using race as the basis of accusing an individual (making stops and searches) (Muffler, 2006 & Withrow, 2010), have never had more specific profiles for the right kind of people they should be looking for, hence have been discriminatory in their actions. Profiles based on race only lead to discrimination (EUAFR, 2010 & Lever, 2009) and discrimination is unlawful (Ekstrand & Rezmovic, 2000). The act of profiling based on one’s race is not unlawful but the purpose of profiling or the basis of using the race as the reason for categorizing one as a criminal is unlawful. Law enforcement officers are prohibited from engaging in discriminatory behavior based on an individual’s nationality, ethnicity or race as required by the 4th and 5th amendments. Title VI of the civil rights Act 1964 also considers discrimination based on color, nationality or race by federal financial assistance recipients as illegal. Law enforcement agencies that receive federal funds and are guided by ‘Safe Streets Act of 1968’, are also prohibited from discriminating individuals based on color, race, or nationality (Ekstrand & Rezmovic, 2000). Racial profiling therefore is not unlawful but that which leads to discrimination is unlawful. Can Racial Profiling be regulated by Departmental Policies? Yes, departmental policies can help reduce racial profiling. Sweeny police department for example has a policy against racial profiling. The policy has 12 sections but the most important in helping reduce racial profiling are the procedures, public education and legal reference sections. The legal reference section describes what laws prohibit racial profiling. If it has been prohibited by the laws guiding their actions in the field, the officers would not want to go against the law. Going against the laws has its consequences (Stroud, 2002). The policy also describes how federal police officers’ actions will be analyzed before being considered as racial profiling. This acts as protection to their actions and gives them the confidence to still do their job irrespective of the racial profiling issue. It encourages them to do the right thing. The officers are required to report their actions after work. This information is analyzed to determine if the officers are discriminative or not based on nationality, ethnicity and gender or if the officers violated any laws (Stroud, 2002). Several other police departments have racial profiling polices for example Fayette County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO, n.d), Haven police Department (HPD, n.d), Angelo state university Police department (ASU, n.d) and Baylor University Police Department (BUPD, n.d). How Can Racial Profiling be Prevented and How Can Police Officers Be Controlled So as Not to Engage In Racial Profiling? It is indicated above that racial profiling that leads to discrimination can be avoided by developing specific profiles for criminals, and not using race as the basis of arrest (Muffler, 2006). Police officers may still have the notion that a specific race indulges more on a specific crime than others, but this should not be the basis of determining who is a criminal or not (Withrow, 2010). Development of departmental policies as mentioned above would be the best way to prevent racial profiling. The policies guide the actions of the police officers, monitor their actions and in turn prevent racial profiling. The policies have actions that will be taken for violators and this, just like any other policy, guides their actions towards the purpose of the policy; which is to prevent racial profiling. Civil rights actions against racial profiling can also prevent further racial profiling by police officers. When there is no one to defend the minority or the targeted in racial profiling, the act can still continue. A good example is that of Jose Snachez, a resident of Denver. This Hispanic was defended by ACLU of Colorado. When those responsible for racial profiling or not taking actions against it are apprehended, cases of racial profiling are reduced (ACLU, 2011). There is no sure way to find out if the police officers act according to racial profiling policy requirements. Risse and Zeckhauser propose intensified supervision for example civilian encounters of videotaping police, which can help in identification of those going against the law. They also propose continued training and stiff punishment for law violators as a way of preventing racial profiling (2004). Consequences of Racial Profiling for the Targeted and on Citizens Racial profiling has damaging effects to the society and is also in conflict with the law relating to discrimination (EUAFR, 2010). Those who are targeted develop suspicion and mistrust toward law enforcement agencies and systems. Because of that, there will be little cooperation with the law enforcement agencies reducing the chances of getting the truth and solving crime issues (Lamberth Consulting, n.d; RWG, 2010; ACLU, 2004 and Muffler, 2006). Targeted groups with perceptions of being profiled based on their races may retaliate, or respond wrongly due to fear of being harmed. A good example is Keshon Moore’s case; the driver of a rented Silver Dodge Caravan, who had a suspended license because of unpaid tickets. Keshon responded wrongly to two state troopers who signaled him to pull over. He had two friends in the car and because of his nervousness (there is no sure way to prove that nervousness caused this but still , his response caused the problem), he ended up putting the car on ‘reverse’ instead of ‘park’. The car rolled back and bumped into the police car pushing it backwards. This surprised the two state troopers and they began to shoot injuring Moore’s two friends (Kops, 2006) (The story can be obtained from Kops, 2006, p. 42-43). Lamberth Consulting (n.d) and Withrow (2010) also indicate that racial profiling can lead to police officers adopting the wrong perception of the minorities being more likely to commit crimes (if the police officers are not educated on racial profiling) and therefore have a higher probability of over reacting; just like in the example described above. Mistrust on law enforcement agencies and the justice system can also lead to other crimes like riots, excessive violence and looting (Lamberth Consulting, n.d). Suggested Solutions to the Problem Suggestions on how racial profiling can be solved indicate that development of the right policies and laws are the best ways. Policies will guide the actions of the police officers, or law enforcement agents and this will stop racial profiling (Muffler, 2006). Development of effective profiling based on intelligence information is also another suggestion since some professionals believe that racial profiling is a ‘lazy method of law enforcement” (ACLU, 2004, p. 8). List of References American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) (2004). Sanctioned Bias: Racial Profiling Since 9/11. An ACLU Report. Retrieved from: http://www.aclu.org/FilesPDFs/racial%20profiling%20report.pdf American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado (ACLU). (2011). Racial Profiling; Illegal Search at Issue. ACLU Lawsuit. Retrieved from: http://aclu-co.org/news/aclu-lawsuit-racial-profiling-illegal-search-at-issue Angelo State University (ASU). (n.d ) Statement on Racial Profiling. Angelo State University Police Department Policy Manual. http://www.angelo.edu/services/universitypolice/documents/UPD%20Racial%20Profiling%20Policy%201-10.pdf Baylor University Police Department (BUPD). (n.d). Racial Profiling Policy. Retrieved from: http://www.baylor.edu/baylor_police/index.php?id=976 Callahan, G. and Anderson, W. (2001). The Roots of Racial Profiling: Why are Police Targeting Minorities For Traffic Stops? Reason Magazine, August/September 2001 Issue. Retrieved from: http://reason.com/archives/2001/08/01/the-roots-of-racial-profiling. Ekstrand, L. E. and Rezmovic, E. L. (2000). Racial Profiling: Limited Data Available on Motorist Stops. Washington, DC: DIANE Publishing. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (EUAFR). (2010). Towards More Effective Policing: Understanding and Preventing Discriminatory Ethnic Profiling. A Guide Report. Retrieved from: http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/Guide_ethnic_profiling.pdf Fayette County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO). (n.d). Racial Profiling Policy. Retrieved from: http://www.co.fayette.tx.us/racialprof.htm Haven Police Department (HPD), (n.d). Haven Police Department Policy Prohibiting Racial Profiling. Retrieved from: http://www.havenpd.net/Profiling.html Kops, D. (2006). Racial Profiling, Volume 21. New York: Marshall Cavendish. Lamberth Consulting. (n.d). Racial Profiling: Effect On Our Nation. Retrieved from: http://www.lamberthconsulting.com/about-racial-profiling/racial-profiling-effecton-nation.asp Landauer, J. and Rowlands, J. (2001). Importance of Philosophy: Ethics. Retrieved from: http://www.importanceofphilosophy.com/Ethics_Main.html Lever, A. (2009). Racial Profiling and Jury Trials. The Jury Expert, p. 21-55. Muffler, S. J. (2006). Racial Profiling: Issues, Data, And Analyses. New York: Nova Publishers. Orr, T. (2009). Racial Profiling. Minnesota: ABDO. Pojman, L. P. and Fieser, J. (2011). Ethics: Discovering Right and Wrong. (7th Ed). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning. Rights Working Group (RWG). (2010). Faces Of Racial Profiling: A Report from Communities Across America. An Executive Summary. Retrieved from: http://www.rightsworkinggroup.org/sites/default/files/FacesofRacialProfiling_ExecSummary.pdf Risse, M. and Zeckhauser, R. (2004). Racial Profiling. Journal of Philosophy & Public Affairs, 32 (2): 132-170. http://www.hks.harvard.edu/fs/mrisse/Papers/Papers%20-%20Philosophy/RacialProfiling.pdf. Stroud, G. (2002). Sweeny Police Department: Racial Profiling Policy. Retrieved from: http://www.sweenypolice.org/Racial%20Profiling%20Policy.pdf Withrow, B. L. (2010). Racial Profiling Controversy: What Every Police Leader Should Know. New York: Looseleaf Law Publications. Read More