Is Racial Profiling Acceptable If Crime Rates Are Significantly Higher For The Group Being Profiled?

Answer 1

Profiling because of race is not effective. Profiling based on a combination of factors, the most important being behavior makes sense.

For example, stopping a late model car simply because a black man is driving it (DWB) is probably ineffective and certainly discriminatory.

However, stopping that same car that is smoke filled, is speeding, has its tail lights out, an expired inspection sticker, and is blasting music is a different story.

I happen to be part of a group that often profiled despite it ostensibly being against protocol. However, because of certain factors, once stopped, I tend to get less hassled (warnings instead of tickets, or "have a good day, sir.") than some others fitting my profile - which is unfair, but I'll take it.

On the flip side, many of my peers such as my brother feel that they've been hassled for no reason other than their skin color. And since they are not criminals, it becomes a waste of crime prevention time (i.e. this is time they could be spending time with actual criminals).

Answer 2

You mean Gender Profiling right? Even if rates are NOT significantly higher or lower for the gender being profiled, Gender profiling is acceptable to particular genders if it gives them certain advantages and special treatments in laws, admission to various places, financial support etc over the other gender.

Answer 3

No. This would give overlooked races incentive to commit crime. And also crime has nothing to do with race. It has to do with wealth, upbringing, and of course just plain 'ol mental stability.

Poor people have a higher incentive to circumvent the law because they're much more susceptible to lose respect for the law and functional society. Opportunities in their area have been crushed by negative social factors (in tandem with inertia that has built over time). Their area hasn't given them a fair opportunity to succeed (e.g. unavailability to decent education, poor economic health of the area, etc.). The inertia of poverty in many inner city neighborhoods results in kids being raised with no perspective on how to succeed in a functional way. Their only view of success is of those who commit crime: gang members with shared wealth, the drug dealer with the nice car, the house robber who resells stolen goods, the pimp and the prostitute. Jail is not seen as a severe consequence. It can even be seen as an escape from the the nightmare of violent street life.

There isn't an easy solution to such a huge social problem. Addressing race is an easy answer. Unfortunately it's also the wrong answer.

I won't disagree there are cultural elements tied to race that can perpetuate these problems. For black or Hispanic Americans in these depressed areas, there is a stigma for overtly displaying book smartness or intelligence. It's regarded as 'playing white' and therefore a rejection of their identity. Doing well in school is chastised. Rejecting the structure of education is encouraged. It's a cycle that perpetuates and it results in a feedback of crime.

These stigmas are being broken in a lot of places, but largely in individual cases like for those few who aren't afraid of challenging social "norms" in their area. I think targeted cultural messages that help break these stigmas are needed. These are youth who need to be told not to conform to the street life they know, that there's a better way to function and the key to it is better education.

Okay so I've rambled on long enough. And I don't really touch on corporate crime which is a whole other spectrum. But I'd speculate white-collar crime could easily be a result of racial profiling. Wealthy white people in positions of power can easily grow to think they're above the law.

Answer 4

Racial profiling makes logical sense on some point, yet often the communities focused by potential of it are often concern to further expenditures that have not something to do with whether or not they have actually commited against the regulation Blacks, case in point, are mechanically stopped by potential of law enforcement officers searching for drugs of their automobiles, yet whether the cop does not locate something, they're oftentimes arrested for "insubordination"--oftentimes even non-existen offences, i think of that's the place the project lies

Answer 5

No, because too much time is being wasted on looking for people who might fit those profiles while others who don't fit commit the crimes and get away with it because nobody thinks to look for them.

Answer 6

i think it is. people will call me racist but where does stereotyping come from? real events.

something has to actually happen for a stereotype to become real.

racial profiling can sometimes result in a dangerous crime being averted.

Answer 7

To be safe we should just profile all humans since crimes are committed by humans mostly.

Answer 8

Yes.

Answer 9

No - rather than target one specific group, it's far more advantageous to treat everyone as a potential criminal.

Why take away one group's rights when you can take away everyone's rights?

Answer 10

it makes sense to me but i'm sure someone would sue someone else and that would be the end of it