The world is living in a post 9/11 era. Since that September day, security measures have heightened and extra precautions are in place to prevent something of that nature from happening again. The terrorists involved in 9/11 appeared to be shockingly similar to a typical American Citizen. However, their behaviors from that week prior were alarming. Examining the terrorists who have become more prevalent in the last twenty years, there are several things in common with all of them. Their profiles all have similar characteristics, not necessarily racial but largely behavioral. To address this, the United States Government and the Transportation Security Administration should allow profiling in airport security throughout the country.
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary:
Profiling is the recording and analysis of a person's psychological and behavioral characteristics, so as to assess or predict their capabilities in a certain sphere or to assist in identifying a particular subgroup of people (1811).
Profiling is typically broken down to two different types - racial and ethnic or behavioral. People tend to assume profiling is solely racial. However, current practices lean more towards the behavioral side of it. Many security measures incorporate both types in different ways. “Racial profiling is the alleged policy of some police to attribute criminal intentions to members of some ethnic groups and to stop and question them in disporptionate numbers without probable cause” (BING). Behavioral profiling is an investigative tool that is intended to help security officers to profile unknown criminal subjects or offenders based on common behavioral tendencies (RACE). Many debates have started between the def...
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The new Oxford American dictionary. 2nd ed. London: Oxford University Press, 2005. Print.
In the United States of America today, racial profiling is a deeply troubling national problem. Many people, usually minorities, experience it every day, as they suffer the humiliation of being stopped by police while driving, flying, or even walking for no other reason than their color, religion, or ethnicity. Racial profiling is a law enforcement practice steeped in racial stereotypes and different assumptions about the inclination of African-American, Latino, Asian, Native American or Arab people to commit particular types of crimes. The idea that people stay silent because they live in fear of being judged based on their race, allows racial profiling to live on.
After 9/11 there was a great increase in security nationwide. One major example of this is the number of agencies created as a result of 9/11. Among these agencies include the creation of the TSA (Transportation Security Administration), the DHS (The Department of Homeland Security), the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and lastly the massive advancement of the US Coast Guard. Every one of the budgets of these agencies has doubled since 9/11. The creation of the transportation and security administrations primary goal is to improve the safety of all American Citizens traveling by plane. The TSA started implementing, new policies and new technological advancements.
Racial profiling is the tactic of stopping someone because of the color of his or her skin and a fleeting suspicion that the person is engaging in criminal behavior (Meeks, p. 4-5). This practice can be conducted with routine traffic stops, or can be completely random based on the car that is driven, the number of people in the car and the race of the driver and passengers. The practice of racial profiling may seem more prevalent in today’s society, but in reality has been a part of American culture since the days of slavery. According to Tracey Maclin, a professor at the Boston University School of Law, racial profiling is an old concept. The historical roots “can be traced to a time in early American society when court officials permitted constables and ordinary citizens the right to ‘take up’ all black persons seen ‘gadding abroad’ without their master’s permission” (Meeks, p. 5). Although slavery is long since gone, the frequency in which racial profiling takes place remains the same. However, because of our advanced electronic media, this issue has been brought to the American public’s attention.
“What time should we leave? Two hours in advance? Three? Four?” Millions of people ask these questions each year before boarding a plane. Between driving, security, walking to the gate, and getting settled, boarding a plane exhausts travelers. But out of all of these different activities, one frustrates and restrains travelers the most: TSA security. People ask why they need all this security, complain about the inconvenience it causes, and ultimately annoys people to no end. Created after 9/11, Transportation Security Administration, or TSA, nationalized airport security, increased screening duration, and supposedly increases security on flights. However, statistics say these added security measures never come to fruition and potentially cost more lives than they save.
With the society that most individuals are offered today, the world of crime has been constantly transforming. This can influence the typical individual to question if there are too many laws that one should follow, including the penalties that are to be expected. The word crime can insinuate many thoughts of apprehension, segregation, and security when applying the law in accordance to criminal acts being prosecuted. In order for penalties to apply to a particular individual, law enforcement must first be able to track and identify suspects of various crimes. Numerous approaches can be offered for this process, but profiling is a common tactic that has aided law enforcement in seeking justice for both suspects and victims. Although viewed negatively at times, law enforcement profiling is an effective tool for police officers that should not be abandoned due to infrequent and negligible invasions into an innocent person’s personal privacy. Suspect profiling has diverse backgrounds, intentions, and classifications that are demonstrated in various forms and allows law enforcement to evaluate and distinguish any probable evidence. With the following paragraphs I will provide detailed information on what ‘profiling suspects’ means in a law enforcement setting, the pros and cons of profiling, and the reasons why profiling should be used in law enforcement.
Racial profiling in the dictionary is “the assumption of criminality among ethnic groups: the alleged policy of some police to attribute criminal intentions to members of some ethnic groups and to stop and question them in disproportionate numbers without probable cause (“Racial Profiling”).” In other words racial profiling is making assumptions that certain individuals are more likely to be involved in misconduct or criminal activity based on that individual’s race or ethnicity. Racial profiling propels a brutalizing message to citizens of the United States that they are pre-judged by the color of their skin rather than who they are and this then leads to assumptions of ruthlessness inside the American criminal justice system. With race-based assumptions in the law enforcement system a “lose-lose” situation is created due to America’s diverse democracy and destroys the ability to keep the criminal justice system just and fair. Although most police officers perform their duties with fairness, honor, and dedication, the few officers who portray to be biased then harm the whole justice system resulting in the general public stereotyping every law enforcement officer as a racial profiler (Fact Sheet Racial Profiling). When thinking about racial profiling many people automatically think it happens only to blacks but sadly this is mistaken for far more ethnic groups and races such as Jews, Muslims, Mexicans, Native Americans, and many more are racially profiled on a day to day basis. Many people believe racial profiling to be a myth because they see it as police officers merely taking precautions of preventing a crime before it happens, but in reality racial profiling has just become an approved term for discrimination and unjust actio...
The key to understanding racialized profiling is to understand what systemic discrimination and profiling mean. Systemic discrimination sometimes called systemic racism is defined as, “Patterns and practices… which, although they may not be intended to disadvantage any group, can have the effect of disadvantaging or permitting discrimination against… racial minorities” (Comack, 2012, p30). Profiling in policing is defined as,
Before any argument can be made against racial profiling, it is important to understand what racial profiling is. The American Civil Liberties Union, defines racial profiling as "the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin"(Racial Profiling: Definition). Using this definition we can determine that racial profiling excludes any evidence of wrong-doing and relies solely on the characteristics listed above. We can also see that racial profiling is different from criminal profiling, which uses evidence of wrong-doing and facts which can include information obtained from outside sources and evidence gathered from investigation. Based on these definitions, I will show that racial profiling is unfair and ineffective because it relies on stereotyping, encourages discrimination, and in many cases can be circumvented.
Before the dreaded day of September 11, 2001, a person or persons flying could be escorted to their gate by family members and loved ones. The thought that a gun would or could be brought on board of an airplane and used as a means to hijack an airplane never crossed a passenger’s mind. Isaac Yeffet said, “After Lockerbie, everyone thought; now we’ve learned the lesson of how to be proactive instead of being reactive. Unfortunately, September 11 came and we know the result. Thousands of people lost their lives. Security totally failed, not at one airport, at three different airports around the country.” Due to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, the United States government decided airport security needed to be updated and become more stringent. These updates included a formation of TSA and Sky Marshalls, tighter security measures, and policy changes.
... Using behavior profiling instead of racial profiling, we can eliminate unfair treatment of an entire group of people to improve airport experiences for everyone. Experts in behavioral sciences could be hired to monitor airports and determine when dangerous situations arise. This system of security could be an improvement over the current one, because homeland security can be improved without the discrimination of an entire race. Racial profiling in airports creates unnecessary frustration for innocent passengers simply hoping to travel across the globe. Some may argue that the precautions are necessary to keep America safe from terrorism, but passenger profiling is too ineffective and unfair to be accepted as a valuable process. Airport security is hard enough to get through as it is, but the prejudice of an entire race is not taking us in the right direction.
Racial profiling has been a common controversy between law enforcement and communities, specifically those of a minority population. This activity has been ultimately allowed by federal and state governments as they benefit from the aid in pinpointing or otherwise targeting criminals or illegal aliens. Furthermore, racial profiling has become more of a commonly encountered practice especially after the September 11 attacks.
Even the United States struggles with issues of racial discrimination despite being a society highly based on immigrants and multicultural diversity. On one hand, people frown on treatment based on race, whether that is on an individual or group level. On the other, people are tired and annoyed by the seemingly constant call of discrimination. All of these feelings culminate into the debate pertaining to the use of racial profiling. Likewise, there are some individuals that hold a certain level of acceptance in regard to racial profiling. However, what is lost in the process because of that acceptance? There are many components that need to be thought about in reference to the use of racial profiling. In addition, it can be viewed from varying perspectives, such as through the use of statistics, by looking at social norms and taking into account moral/ethical values. Although racial profiling has been denounced, its use has continued to come up repeatedly. Furthermore, it is very apparent that certain circumstances cause the use concept of racial profiling to resurface.
The process of using behavioral evidence left at a crime scene to make inferences about the offender, including inferences about personality characteristics and psychopathology is called criminal profiling. Around the country, several agencies rely on the minds of criminal psychologists to lead them in the right direction to finding the correct offender. Criminal profiling provides investigators with knowledge of the appearance and behavior of a potential criminal.
The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2011 prompted the world to reevaluate and drastically modify airport and airline security. “Four targets had been chosen, all iconic American buildings that would send a clear message of the depth of their hatred for the United States. All four planes crashed, killing all on board—terrorists, crew members, and passengers, along with hundreds who were killed inside the structures, on the ground, and the men and women who ran into collapsing buildings in an effort to try and save others” (Smutz 1). As Jason Villemez said “the decade after the 9/11 attacks reshaped many facets of life in America” (Villemez 1). Before the attacks, people did not think that large scale hostility towards innocent people in our country was remotely possible. Ever since that fateful moment, citizens in America are on their toes every day worrying about another attack happening. United States citizens have had to adapt and change in response to this fear of further terrorist assault on our country. One of the ways they have adapted is by changing their means of security concerning airline travel.
Historically, crime and criminals have always caught the attention of law-abiding citizens. Whenever there is mention of serial killers or unsolved murders or abductions, psychological profiling, now a household term, floats to the top of the list of concerns (Egger, 1999). Psychological profiling is an attempt to provide investigators with more information about an offender who has not yet been identified (Egger, 1999). Its purpose is to develop a behavioral composite that combines both sociological and psychological assessment of the would-be offender. It is generally based on the premise that an accurate analysis and interpretation of the crime scene and other locations related to the crime can indicate the type of person who could have committed the crime (Egger, 1999).