Racial Profiling

RACIAL PROFILING

Racial profiling is the practice of authority and/or police targeting one or more individuals based on their belief that particular minority groups are the ones who are most likely to commit crimes and/or participate in unlawful activities. This issue has been going on for many years and recently as of 2011, it has got the attention of Congress and the End Racial Profiling Act of 2011 was proposed in the 112th Congress.

In the United States racial profiling is a very major issue and it really needs to stop. If someone is considered dangerous or even considered a criminal because of their race, what is the point of the constitution stating that “All men are created equal”. America is supposed to be the land of the freedom and opportunity, but how could that be, if the people who live in this country cannot get the same opportunities as their fellow man because of their race. Racial Profiling has been reviewed on several constitutional grounds and includes that this particular profiling constitutes a violation of the 4th amendment’s unreasonable search and seizure or the equal protection guarantee of the 14th amendment.

An analysis study was taken and completed in 2003 by the Northeastern University. It concluded traffic stops that occurred over a two year time period, found that Latino and African American drivers were not only stopped twice as much as white drivers, but also most likely to be searched twice as much as white drivers. Another study was taken by the same University in 2006 and it too also concluded that out of 39 jurisdictions surveyed, 85% of the people stopped by police were nonwhite drivers.

There are also several Federal Statues that too also provide the basis for racial profiling lawsuits such as 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. All these Statues were created to ensure the America people that if they were to face such matters as Racial...