Verified Document

Profiling An Effective Tool For Law Enforcement Essay

¶ … profiling an effective tool for law enforcement to use in policing society? Racial profiling is the practice of law enforcement officers in stopping an individual of a certain race or ethnicity and investigating them based on their ethnicity. Such practices may occur in traffic routines or in matters connected with security. Racial profiling is forbidden in most states and in fact, as the article "RACIAL PROFILING LAW STRENGTHENED" (2012) by Keating, Christopher shows the Senate recently strengthened the state's racial profiling law.

On the one hand, as stated in Harcourt (2004), many of the people involved in traffic incidents do seem to be of a similar race. We have the same occurrence with security matters where, over and again, it seems to be most frequently people of Islamic extraction who perpetrate terrorist activities against the West. More so, Fundamentalist Islam has come out overtly against the West threatening the West with retribution and extinction. In this case, then it would make sense to place more focus on people of Islamic extraction as more likely - although not necessarily so -- to commit terrorism. There are many exceptions too. Timothy McVeigh for instance was a home-spun American and many of the recent cases of terrorism that occurred this year were committed by non-Muslims. Nonetheless, if one sees a certain probability happening enough times, the law of mathematical risks is that one takes precautions where it is most calculated to happen.

This is particularly important since America has only limited resources and cannot haphazardly...

Time, economic resources, and the simple impossibility of randomly targeting a non-deliberate sample of people make this impossible. One has to take calculated risks based on history and experience -- this is the science of probability -- in order to prevent crimes form occurring, in order to deter drugs, in order to preempt further traffic death, and, in order to increase security. Alleged prejudice is a small price to pay for the relatively far larger and more significant flow of blood that will occur were officers to overlook those most likely to perpetrate the crimes.
In fact, economists argue that the fact that the police consistently find the same ethnicity involved in crimes does not indicate bigotry or racial profiling. Rather, there is a certain 'hit rate' that shows that time and again contrabands have been found by searching this particular race and not another. To economists, it makes sense.

On the other hand, civil liberty advocates protest that police deliberately focus on people of minority extraction to the almost total exclusion of White motorists (or White individuals in terms of security). The statistics, according to some, show no evidence that Blacks (or other similar minority races such as Hispanics) are more aggrandizing involved in drugs than Whites. Rather, it is these individuals who are singled out. The police can no more use race in deciding who to search than prosecutors can use race in deciding whom to charge. Both must be given their fair day in court and it is only…

Sources used in this document:
Sources

Harcourt, BE (2004) Rethinking racial profiling…. Univ. Chicago Law Review, 71, 4

Keating, C (2012) RACIAL PROFILING LAW STRENGTHENED Hartford Courant
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Racial Profiling Within Law Enforcement
Words: 1513 Length: 5 Document Type: Term Paper

The problem is endemic and deeply rooted, but it is also one that cannot be openly discussed with social stigma. Racial profiling as a theoretical practice is not wholly unfair, it is the rational use of discrimination to pre-empt crime. However, since racial profiling is often combined with racial discrimination, the inevitable result is that both such practices are institutionally rebuked. Law enforcement will continue to use race as a

Law Enforcement and the Social Media
Words: 1446 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

data collection includes survey form, structured interviews using closed ended questions, and gathering information regarding a sample size appropriate to analyze and draw conclusion on the basis of the research results. The statistical techniques are used for data analysis to analyze collected data in quantitative research methods. The qualitative data is gathered through case study method and open ended question of an unstructured interview from notable sample. The qualitative

Profiling Used As a Legitimate Law Enforcement Tool
Words: 2488 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

Racial profiling is one of the most pressing civil right issues of our time. It extends beyond directs victims to negatively affect all persons of color of all generations and income levels. It undermines the legitimacy of the criminal justice system, and hinders effective policing in the communities that need it the most. A Resource Guide on Racial Profiling Data Collection System defines racial profiling as any police-initiated action that

Benefits of GIS Applications for Law Enforcement
Words: 3357 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Law Enforcement Benefits of GIS Applications for Law Enforcement Resources Police methods have changed dramatically around the world in recent years due to the advent of geo-positioning and improved computer-aided mapping techniques. As has happened throughout the history of policing, law enforcement officials have always tried to use new scientific research to their benefit. Since the object is the safety and comfort of local citizens, a major aspect of the mission for police

Social Media Issues in Law Enforcement
Words: 1780 Length: 6 Document Type: Research Paper

Social Media and Law Enforcement Social Media Issues in law Enforcement Social media and law enforcement: Boon or bane? Social media is a fact of everyday modern life. For law enforcement personnel, it has created new opportunities to share resources with the public, including as 'tweeting' information about a possible suspect or releasing safety information to the public about terrorist incidents or natural disasters. At first, in the Internet age, police departments were

Counterterror and Organized Crime As Competing Goals for Law Enforcement...
Words: 4867 Length: 15 Document Type: Essay

Organized Crime / Counterterrorism AL CAPONE OR AL QAEDA?: ORGANIZED CRIME AND COUNTERTERRORISM AS LAW ENFORCEMENT PRIORITIES IN 2014 Should law enforcement in America prioritize fighting counter-terrorism or fighting organized crime? A full examination of the history and issues involved with both will, I would argue, make the answer clear: with the proper definitions involved of both terror and organized crime, it is the latter which genuinely deserves the attention of law enforcement, and

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now