Racial Profiling Thesis

In the past few years, racial profiling has become a very prominent issue in American society. In “Racial Profiling,” “Racial Profiling is a controversial and illegal discriminatory practice in which individuals are targeted for suspicion of crimes based on their ethnicity, race, or religion rather than on evidence-based suspicious behavior” (Para. 11). Many people are wronged because of this phenomenon and effects many of them in multiple ways. Racial profiling is effecting many people and it needs to be addressed. In general, there are many different groups affected. “While African Americans have historically been the targets of racial profiling, they are not the only community affected by this practice. It affects groups such as Native

“When officers use the color of a person’s skin without using other identifying factors, they are guilty of Racial Profiling.” (Para 11). Therefore, if a cop uses the color of a person’s skin, the way they dress, or their religious preference as a basis for that person’s arrest without good reason, the officer is at fault for any wrong doing to the person they are targeting. Since this is the case, steps are being made to enforce the end of Racial Profiling. Democratic Senator Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland is already working on pushing a policy called the End Racial Profiling Act. “First, the bill prohibits the use of racial profiling—using a standard definition—that includes race, ethnicity, national origin, or religion. All law enforcement agencies would be prohibited from using racial profiling in criminal or routine law enforcement investigations, immigration enforcement, and national security cases” (Cardin Para 9). This bill would enforce law enforcement agencies to get rid of any practices that would encourage racial profiling and help bring in new policies to avoid it in the future. People are making a difference in how much power police have over innocent

The consequences of racial profiling can be emotional, psychological, financial, physical, and can even lead to the loss of life. Emotionally, the person may think they did something wrong without knowing it, causing them to be wary and nervous around law enforcement in the future. While psychologically, they may be paranoid to go out and do the same things again in fear of being arrested or harassed by officers. Targets may even begin to financially falter by attempting to go out of their way to change the way they dress, the car they drive, or even by having to pay any unnecessary fines or tickets they may have acquired. Racial profiling can lead to physical altercations between law enforcement and citizens resulting in the target being charged with crimes that were brought on by consistent harassment or unnecessary violence. Sometimes these altercations even end in death. An example of this would be Eric Garner, who was put into a chokehold by an officer and died of asphyxiation soon after, despite pleading with the officer and telling him that he couldn’t breathe. He was suspected of illegally selling cigarettes. His death was ruled a homicide. (Sanchez Para 4.) Soon after the occurrence, there were riots and protests against the police. This is only one of many examples out there. There was no reason for the officer to have put Eric Garner into a choke hold. Garner’s mother was given $5.9 million in pretrial