Discrimination and Racial Profiling in the United States
Discrimination against some members of minority groups or those who identify as a particular gender is one of the societal problems that has had a negative impact on the United States. Discrimination has been discovered to be a primary cause of disputes among members of society, hence its impacts cannot be understated. Numerous organizations have launched campaigns across the country in an effort to eradicate it, with the main goal of raising awareness among the populace that since everyone is created equal, they should all have access to the same possibilities in society, including work prospects. Nevertheless, one of the major social issues that have received uproar from the community members over the recent past is the racial profiling of the minority groups by the police in the United States. Evidence suggests that members of the minority groups – more so the Black Americans or Hispanics – have not only been denied equal employment opportunities within the security organs in the United States but also most of them have become a target of the law enforcers in criminal matters, which has made most of them lose their lives.
Section 1: Recent Statistics on the Problem
Racial profiling is increasingly becoming a major threat to the peaceful co-existence of the Americans. It has been noted that the law enforcers are more likely to target individuals from specific races – more so the blacks and the Hispanics – as they are deemed to have a higher probability of committing a crime. Evidence suggests that such people are not seen as prime targets of crime because they might have been caught while committing any crime but rather, the allegations are based on their appearance. For example, if a member from these races lives in a poor neighborhood but he/she dresses in an expensive manner, the likelihood of him/her being treated as a criminal is likely to be high. Consequently, if a member of such races who seems to be poor is found within a wealthy neighborhood, he/she is also treated with suspicion as the security enforcers tend to think that he/she would intend to commit a crime. The most common type of racial profiling takes place when the police officers stop, question, or even search an African American or a Hispanic American on the roads. It has been noted that the intensity of the force used by the security personnel while dealing with such people is always of higher magnitude than when the law enforcers would be dealing with the White Americans. Statistics denote that the African American driver has a 4.5 percent of being arrested after being stopped by traffic police while only 2.1 percent of the White Americans are likely to be arrested in a similar situation. In addition, a study that was conducted on the Police Conduct in Arizona revealed that the highway traffic officers were more likely to search for a stopped African American. The now and then cases of the black Americans being shot by the police officers due to allegations that they were found committing a crime also attracted the attention of researchers. According to them (the researchers) the probability of an unarmed black American being shot by the police officers is 3.49 times higher than that of their counterparts from the white races. A report on the investigation of the Maryland Police Conduct revealed that even though the number of the African – Americans drivers who violated the traffic rules was equal to 17.5%, 72.9 percent of all the drivers who were stopped and searched by the police officers were black Americans (Simmons 2011). A similar research that was conducted in New Jersey revealed that 73.2% of all the motorists that were stopped and arrested by the law enforcers were African Americans. In addition, a study carried out by Ian Ayres – a law professor at Yale University – revealed that out of 10000 California residents, 4569 black Americans were stopped by the traffic police while on the roads while the same was done to only 1750 white drivers. The professor also estimated that 127% of the black Americans who were stopped were more likely to be frisked by the traffic officials.
Causes of Racial Profiling
A number of reasons have been proposed to be the main drivers of racial profiling by the police in the United States. Since the September 11th terrorists’ attacks, which were committed by foreigners, the American security agencies have been noted to be quite strict while dealing with black or Hispanic Americans, since some of them are illegal migrants (Martin and Glaser 2012). This behavior points out that the law enforcers suppose that the Black Americans (and the Hispanic ones too) are more prone to committing a crime, hence, the reason why they (the police officers) must be quite vigilant on them. It is paramount to note that the police officers are mandated to ensure that law and order is maintained by the society members at all times. Therefore, in cases where they are convinced that the major threat comes from members of a given group, they are more likely to heighten their surveillance on such people. Unfortunately, in the United States, the majority criminal activities have been associated with the members of the minority groups, which justifies the need for the security enforcers to be extra vigilant while dealing with people from such areas. Even though it might be quite challenging for one to substantiate a case of racial profiling, it has been noted that this practice has some backing from the law. As a result of the Fourth Amendment of the United States’ constitution, the police officers are granted the rights to search for anyone as long as they believe that the respective person has been involved in an activity, which is a total violation of the law (Simmons 2011). Therefore, if a policeman notes a car whose tail light is broken, then he/she has the right to stop it and conduct a thorough search by pointing that the car might be used for activities that have been outlawed by the government such as the transportation of illegal drugs. However, even if this might not be the case, the dictations of the Fourth Amendment can be taken advantage of by the police officers as a basis for enhancing racial profiling by conducting extensive searches on members of a given race on the basis of suspicion that they might be intending to commit a crime. Some people have also argued that the security enforcement officers have been taking advantage of the Fourth Amendment as a means of engaging in gross misconduct, which usually involves the profiling of people from the minority races.
Section 2: Activities That Help To Raise Awareness about the Issue
As noted earlier, racial profiling has attracted the attention of most community members since they feel that it is a form of violation of the human rights, more so the rights of the people from the minority groups. Therefore, organizations and government institutions have joined hands to denounce it and to raise the awareness of the community members about this issue as well. Although many people believe that racial profiling is unconstitutional, the Supreme Court has been blamed for its lack to issue a clarification on the issue, hence, making the law enforcers have their own interpretation of the law whenever they are involved in acts of racial profiling (). Most of the human rights activists have pointed out that racial profiling violates the dictates of the Equal Protection Clause as enshrined in the constitution (Starr 2016). Besides, several other groups have also been formed with the main objective of denouncing racial profiling. One such group is the Racial Justice Program’s Campaign Against Racial Profiling. The main essence of this program is to advocate for the rights of people from the minority groups by opposing the discriminative practices of the security personnel whose main targets is usually the people from such races. In addition, the initiative claims that it must represent all the people who have been victims of racial profiling by any institutions or government authorities in the American society. To make sure that the society members understand their rights, this initiative has printed various brochures that are entitled ‘Know Your Rights’ that are distributed to the society members. Additionally, the group has produced a film ‘Bustcard’ that shows the adverse effects of racial profiling, and it also calls for effective anti-profiling measures to be put in place. In Rhode Island, several organizations also joined hands to declare May as the ‘Racial Profiling Awareness month’ in an effort to teach the community members about the adverse effect of racial profiling. The organizations also came up with toll-free hotline contacts through which the victims of racial profiling can call and raise their concerns and ask for any assistance that they may be in need of as well. The main organizations that took part in this campaign include the Urban League of Rhode Island, the Progreso Latino, the Olneyville Neighborhood Association, and the Ocean State Action. In other states – such as New Jersey – a national movement known as the National Association for the Advancement of the Colored People (NACCP) was formed to campaign for the rights of the people from the minority races. For instance, in 2017, NACCP aired its grievances after the recruitment of the people to join the police agency. The group had noted that out of the 123 recruits who had been selected to join the disciplined forces, only five of them were from the minority groups. Thus, it is evident that the main goal of these groups is the make sure that the society members are enlightened about racial profiling and, hence, convince them to shun it.
Section 3: Solutions to the Problem
The analysis above demonstrates that the adverse effects of racial profiling cannot be underestimated as it only leads to divisions among the community members but also it leads to unfair treatment of the individuals from the minority areas. Therefore, it goes without saying that there is a need for favorable policies to be designed and put in place to counter this social evil. To start with, the Supreme Court should provide a better clarification on the Fourth Amendment in a move to deny the police officers the opportunity to discriminate citizens depending on their races. As mentioned earlier, the law allows the security enforcers the right to search for an individual if they are convinced that he/she might have engaged in a crime. However, the police have been taking advantage of this clause to discriminate people from the minority areas. Since the constitution grants every citizen some fundamental rights key among them being the right to privacy and the right from any unfair treatment in any situation (Gill 2014), then it would be rational for the court to clarify the conditions under which the security officials are allowed to stop and frisk anyone. For instance, the Supreme Court can decree that the officers should only do so if the person affected is behaving suspiciously and not as a result of his/her race. In addition, the authorities must denounce racial profiling and make it known to all societal members that it is a means of degrading a section of the humanity (Rivera 2008). Rivera suggests that, unless those who are in power do so, getting rid of racial profiling will remain to be a mirage. However, if they start by proclaiming so, they will be in a position to restructure some of the societal institutions – more so the security agencies – to address this injustice, hence, promote the welfare of every citizen. In addition, Rivera argues that an oversight agency should be established to monitor the actions of the police officers and prosecute those who might be found to have engaged in any misconduct such as racial profiling. The oversight body must also be capable of investigating all the complaints filed by the members of the public and make sure that justice is achieved in every matter.
Conclusion
To sum it all racial profiling can be defined as the unfair discrimination of people from the minority races in the United States. The major cases of racial profiling in the nation have been reported within its police force. As demonstrated above, the law enforces always treat the people from the minority groups with suspicion as they believe that they are more likely to commit a crime, hence, the reason why most of the people who are stopped and frisked by the police come from these races. Nevertheless, it has been noted that the security enforcers have been taking advantage of the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, which allows them to frisk anyone they might be suspecting to be a criminal, to discriminate the citizens from the minority groups. Therefore, it is important for the Supreme Court to clarify the conditions under which the police officers can do so in order to bring racial profiling to an end. In addition, all the government authorities should denounce racial profiling in an effort to convince the societal members to shun it. Besides, an oversight agency should be established to monitor the conduct of the police officers and prosecute any official who would be found to have engaged in gross misconduct such as racial profiling.
References
Gill, James S. 2014. “Permissibility of Colour and Racial Profilling.” Western Journal of Legal Studies. Vol. 5(3).
Martin, Karin D., and Glaser, Jack. 2012. “Racial Profiling.” Sage Publications
Rivera, Whitney. 2008. “Addressing The Real Problem Of Racial Profiling In Seattle Washington.” Journal of Race, Gender, and Ethnicity. Vol.2.
Simmons, Kami C. 2011. “Beginning to End Racial Profiling: Definitive Solutions to an Elusive Problem.” Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. Vol. 18(1).
Starr, Sonja B. 2016. “Testing Racial Profiling: Empirical Assessment of Disparate Treatment by Police.” University of Chicago Legal Forum. Vol. 2016. Ar.12.
