Racial Profiling

The practice of racial profiling can be defined as any police action initiated because of an individual's race, ethnicity, or national origin without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. The practice of focusing on “people of color” in traffic enforcement as a pretext to further investigate or search is an example. When an individual's race, rather than behavior, is the reason for a police action, racial profiling is occurring. This practice is illegal and serves to alienate the police from the communities they serve.

Many law enforcement agencies have come under scrutiny for racial profiling. During the late 1990s, allegations of racial profiling became so common that communities of color coined the phrases “driving while black,” “driving while brown,” and “DWB” to express their frustration. Reports cite many accounts of disparate treatment of minorities by police. Many minorities have expressed concern that police have stopped them because they do not appear to “match,” in other words, have the means to afford the type of vehicles they are driving. Or they are stopped while driving through predominately white neighborhoods because police believe they do not belong there and that they are involved in illegal activities. The most common complaint is that officers stop minorities for petty traffic violations, not for the purposes of issuing a citation, but as a pretext to conduct unwarranted searches or further investigation.

Nationwide surveys have confirmed that most Americans believe that racial profiling is a significant social problem that should be addressed. A Gallup Poll released in December of 1999 found that a majority of people surveyed believed that police actively engage in racial profiling, and a resounding 81% disapproved of the practice. This survey also indicated a strong correlation between perceptions of race-biased stops by police and animosity toward law enforcement.

To combat the practice of racial profiling, most law enforcement agencies have adopted a three-tiered approach, consisting of policy development, training, and demographic data collection. Policy formation is necessary to establish a new direction and emphasis, the object of which must be to protect the rights of all citizens. New policies must include guidelines regarding when a citizen can be contacted or stopped while operating motor vehicles. There must be an affirmation of required professional conduct and a prohibition of discriminatory practices. All personnel must support the policies, and they should be shared with the public to provide assurance that law enforcement agencies will not tolerate racial profiling.

It is not enough, however, to have policies prohibiting racial profiling. Departments must have training to ensure that proper guidelines are understood and followed. Training in racial profiling may be incorporated into existing training in cultural diversity and professionalism. Many states already have mandates for such training.

[Page 386]Many law enforcement agencies are involved in a process of data collection to both explore and refute the practice of racial profiling. Statistics comparing demographics of drivers stopped by police on traffic stops with population demographics can show whether a disproportionate number of minorities are being stopped. To accomplish this, many law enforcement agencies collect data from traffic citations, which include the reason for the stop; race, ethnicity, age, and sex of the person stopped; type of search conducted, if any; rationale for the search; contraband recovered; and enforcement action taken. Such data still may not be adequate in identifying incidents of racial profiling, because officers have discretion in whether they issue a citation, and if no citation is issued, then no data are collected. Useful data collection must include all stops conducted by officers, including those in which citations are not issued. Careful review of comprehensive data can assist law enforcement agencies in identifying incidents of racial profiling so that corrective measures can be taken to end it.

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