An Argument Against Racial Profiling by Police

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This essay will bring to light the problem of racial profiling in the police force and propose the eradication of any discrimination. The Fourth Amendment states “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” Despite this right, multiple minorities across the country suffer at the hands of police officers through racial profiling; the singling out of a person or persons as the main suspect of a crime based on their race. Many people have also suffered the loss of a loved one because police believed the suspect to be a threat based on their races therefore the officers use their authority to take out the “threat”. Although racial profiling may make sense to police officers in the line of duty, through the eyes of the public and those affected by police actions, it is a form a racism that is not being confronted and is allowing unjust convictions and deaths. Despite the fact racism has been around for hundreds of years, upcoming generations are becoming more open minded and less likely to publicly berate minorities; racial profiling, however, is the one loophole of racism America overlooks. Police officials often use the practices of racial profiling to discretely single out minority races. A common approach to this is through traffic patrols. According to a statistic based in San Jose, CA, nearly 100,000 drivers were stopped; during the year ending in June 2000; and of these drivers less than 32% were white, the remaining 68% of drivers were a... ... middle of paper ... ...ce, it needs to end. The stereotyping of a minority group does no good to the community nor to the reputation of the law enforcement. Works Cited Jones-Brown, Delores. "The Right to Life? Policing, Race, and Criminal Injustice." Human Rights. Spring 2009: 6. SIRS Issues Researcher. Pritchard, Justin. "Racial Profiling Exists, but What Does It Mean?." Las Vegas Review-Journal (Las Vegas, NV). Jan. 14 2001: 34A+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Rudovsky, David. "Breaking the Pattern of Racial Profiling." TRIAL. Aug. 2002: 29+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Tomaskovic-devey, Donald, and Patricia Warren. "Explaining and Eliminating Racial Profiling." Contexts Vol. 8, No. 2. Spring 2009: 34. SIRS Issues Researcher. Walsh, James, and Dan Browning. "Presumed Guilty Until Proved Innocent." Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN). 23 Jul 2000: A1+. SIRS Issues Researcher.

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