Discuss racial profiling with appropriate examples

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

According to the Department of Justice, racial profilingis any police-initiated action based on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than the person's behavior. Generally, profiling occurs when law enforcement officers, including customs officials, airport security, and police, assume that people fitting certain descriptions are likely to be engaged in something illegal. In 2012, national attention was drawn to the incident of a man on a neighborhood watch patrol shooting dead 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, a black youth visiting his father's fiancée in a gated Florida community. While the legal system slowly investigated, many felt the boy would still be alive had he been White and the shooter immediately arrested if Black.

Racial profiling persists despite overwhelming evidence that it not a predictive approach toward identifying potential troublemakers. Whites are more likely to be found with drugs in the areas in which minority group members are disproportionately targeted. A federal study made public in 2005 found little difference nationwide in the likelihood of being stopped by law enforcement officers, but African Americans were twice as likely to have their vehicles searched, and Latinos were five times more likely. A similar pattern emerged in the likelihood of force being used against drivers: It was three times more likely for Latinos and Blacks than White drivers.

Efforts to stop racial profiling came to an abrupt end after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Suspicions about Muslims and Arabs in the United States became widespread. Foreign students from Arab countries were summonedfor special questioning. Legal immigrants identified as Arab or Muslim were scrutinized for any illegal activity and were prosecuted for routine immigration violations that were ignored for people of other ethnic backgrounds and religious faiths.