Racial Profiling Racial and Religious Research Paper

Ramirez et al. explains this clearly stating "when law enforcement practices are perceived to be biased, unfair, and disrespectful, communities of color and other minority groups are less willing to trust and confide in law enforcement officers and agencies, to report crimes that come to their attention, to provide intelligence and information, and to serve as witnesses at trials (Ramirez et al., 1996)." The author further explains that as it pertains to terrorism, Muslims and people of Arab descent might become unwilling to assist police when they have valuable information because they feel they are being discriminated against. In other words, racial profiling serves to increase instead of deter crime because it increases the hostility between police and the communities that they serve.

In addition to the inability of racial profiling to deter crime, one of the main problems often associated with racial profiling is the issue of civil liberties violations. According to an article entitled "Excessive Force," the degree to which racial profiling is currently allowable is due in part to changes in fourth ammendment jurisprudence. The author explains that during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the paolice had the right to arrest citizens without a warrant but only when a serious crimes that were witnessed by the officer. However, during the 1980's and 1990s the S

upreme court decided that warrantless arrests could take place even in cases where non-violent/harmless crimes such as traffic violations were committed. The Supreme Court also ruled that "once a citizen is arrested, the police may conduct a full-blown search of his person and property. Moreover, the Court held in 1996 that the police may stop citizens on a pretext -- using an arrest for a minor offense as an excuse for investigating a more serious one (Rosen, 26) ." Such rulings by the Supreme court have perpetuated the use of racial and religious profiling

According to the Yale Law Journal, profiling presents civil liberties issues particularly in the case of watch lists and no-fly-lists.These are used in the airline industry to prevent people who are suspected of terrorism from flying on commercial flights. The article also explains that Congress has a responsibility to protect the civil liberties of Americans. The author explains that

"There are several reasons for Congress to err on the side of granting procedural protections for deprivations of liberty based on watch lists…it is possible for the government to devise procedures that protect the nation's security while protecting individual liberties at the same time. Because extra procedural protections occur after the revocation or suspension of the transportation-sector activity that has resulted in the threat assessment, the commitment to civil liberties and constitutionality does not conflict with the government's primary interest in security. And finally, members of Congress, no less than federal judges, have an obligation to protect and uphold the Constitution (Florence, 2181)."

Overall there seems to be no real evidence that racial profiling actually deters crime. However there is quite a bit of evidence suggesting that such profiling increases crime, decreases the likelihood that citizens will cooperate with police and violates the civil liberties of American citizens. However, behavioral profiling takes into consideration the actual actions of the individual and assist the law enforcement agency in making informed decisions regarding suspects.

Works Cited

Amar, Paul (2010) Introduction: New racial missions of policing: comparative studies of state authority, urban governance, and security technology in the twenty-first Century. Ethnic and Racial Studies 33.4: April 2010 pp. 575

Florence, Justin Making the No Fly List Fly: A Due Process Model for Terrorist Watchlists The Yale Law Journal, 115. 8 (Jun., 2006), pp. 2148-2181

Kleiner, Y.S. Racial Profiling in the Name of National Security: Protecting Minority Travelers' Civil Liberties in the Age of Terrorism. Boston College Third World Law Journal 30.1: p. 103-44 (Winter 2010)

Ramirez, Deborah A., Hoopes, Jennifer, Tara Lai Quinlan. DEFINING RACIAL PROFILING IN A POST-SEPTEMBER 11….....