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Discuss the implications of Whren et al. v. United States (1996) and why many argue that this case has simply allowed for racial profiling to occur under the guise of pre-textual stops. Do you find any issues with pre-textual stops?
The pre-text stops are the stops from police officers in order to investigate the individuals that violated the traffic rules. These violations are minor and the police may stop in order to check the driver and passengers for any illegal possessions including drugs and weapons. These pre-text stops are often criticized because people feel that their freedom is attacked by stopping them without any 'reasonable' violations. Such a case occurred when two persons were stopped by police officers simply for stopping at road side for few seconds. The individuals also sped the vehicle that created suspicion in the minds of officers and led to the pre-text stop. Many claim that the pre-text stops can result into racial profiling. The police officers may stop minor ethnic groups and can charge them with crimes that were not the probable cause of the stop. The minor violations of traffic rules are often un-provable. Thus the ethnic groups claim that even a slight mistake from them can entail a pre-text stop. Dillon (1997) says that police can trouble the citizens in the name of checking so that they can verify their hunch. The traffic stop does not only affect the individuals but also the others on road.
As far as my point-of-view is concerned, I do not find any problem with the pre-text stops. This could be a problem in a secure world but given the unsafe environment and security concerns, the pre-text stops are far better than suffering...
These stops actually warn people to be extra vigilant when on roads (Gizza, 2011). The traffic needs to follow rules that are for their convenience as well as ease of others. Therefore, the pre-text stops should be cooperated because while they seem a timely and temporary bothering, it saves us from many problems.
2. Research and locate a news article or op-ed that addresses an issue you believe is relevant to the unit (pre-textual stops, racial profiling, etc.). This resource must address a critical or controversial issue.
An article by Wayne (2011) suggests that a couple of decades ago the police was required to have some solid evidence against the citizens' before stopping them for initial investigation. The author feels that the average America lost his freedom on the road with time. The police could only investigate for the purpose they stopped a person for. Nobody could trail anyone without proving that the former violate a law. The probable cause has allowed the police to suspect more frequently and what they need is only "Articulable suspicion" that police can find reasonable evidence. The probable cause can be over speeding the vehicle or drug trafficking.
The author suggests that the increased pressure on the citizens may result into many problems. The citizens often drive at over-speed when they are alone on a road. This should not be followed by a check and investigation by the police. He says that checking people for anything, anytime and anywhere makes the people mad and could lead to civil violation or revolution what happened in Britain. Thus, the state should understand that the security is important yet…
