Explain the controversial issues in law enforcement profiling. Be sure to include the "drug courier profile," U.S. Supreme Court rulings, the most significant criticism of drug-courier profiling methods, and one statistic.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Over the years, drug-law enforcement agents have often developed "drug courier profiles" to help them identify potential drug smugglers. In United States v. Sokolow (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that drug courier profiles at airports could be used as a legitimate law enforcement tool, the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution notwithstanding. In a seven to two decision, the Court ruled that the drug courier profile could provide a "reasonable basis" for officials to suspect that a person is transporting drugs.
The most significant criticism of drug-courier profiling is that some law enforcement officers have created their own profiles based solely on race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than on the behavior of an individual, a practice that has become known as racial profiling. In the late 1990s, racial profiling became a major topic of controversy. National and local media reports often proclaimed that racial profiling was a significant social problem, and national surveys confirmed that most Americans agreed. 
In a 1999 Gallup Poll, more than half of the Americans polled believed that police actively engaged in the practice of racial profiling, and 81 percent said that they disapproved of the practice. When responses to survey questions were broken down by race, 56 percent of whites and 77 percent of African Americans believed that racial profiling was a pervasive problem. 
One of the most common complaints about racial profiling was the claim that police were stopping vehicles simply because the race of the driver did not appear to "match" the type of automobile he or she was driving. A study of drug interdiction at major U.S. airports found that African Americans (6 percent) and Latinos (3 percent) were less likely to possess illicit contraband than whites (7 percent). In 2003, under a Justice Department directive, racial and ethnic profiling was officially banned at all federal agencies with law-enforcement powers. The only exception applies to investigations involving terrorism and national security.