This is “the practice by law enforcement of considering race as an indicator of the likelihood of criminal behavior” (Robinson 530). The issue of using race to identify people is disputable because minorities feel that it is an act of inequality and also humiliating. However, the Supreme Court supports its legality as long as ethnicity is seen as an important factor that determines the detainment of an individual. Therefore, there are many pros and cons about the legality of this law enforcement technique. During times of war, racial
Police brutality is abuse by law enforcement, where a police officer feels that because he/she has a badge and a gun therefore it puts them above the law and they can use unnecessary force against another individual. Racial profiling is the tactic of stopping someone because of his or her skin color. Racial profiling mainly targets young Black and Latino men and is believed to be a justified form of law enforcement. the 1991 beating of Rodney King highlights abuse as one of the most pressing civil rights issues in the United States. It demonstrates that racism is still very real and that people continue to be treated based on the color of their skin.
Racial Profiling Racism unfortunately has been a huge part of our nations history, and racial profiling stems from this racist history. “Racial profiling is the police practice of focusing on members of particular race groups for extra surveillance. The most common example of racial profiling is traffic stops of young, Black men, and it appears to be most commonly employed as a drug-trafficking interdiction strategy” (Glaser 2006, 396). Some law enforcement claim that racial profiling serves a legitimate purpose in protecting security, but in my opinion all it does is cause an unproportional amount of minorities; mainly Black males, to be incarcerated. Racial profiling does exist, and I believe is quite prevalent, whether it’s a Black male being pulled over for no apparent reason, or someone of Middle-Eastern descent being “randomly” checked at an airport, racial profiling is definitely used.
Black Men in Public Places Does the media portray African Americans in a negative light and do statistics support these beliefs? Many people view blacks as threatening, menacing or even as criminals. From the first puritans to settle in America, black people were viewed as inferior to whites. This image, through the media, has evolved into a fear of the black race, especially black men. The essay “Black Men in Public Spaces,” written by Brent Staples illustrates the view from the black man perspective, but may also add to the stereotype.
Racial Micro-aggressions against Minorities Jose P. Polanco Carlos Albizu University PSYM 523-A Racial Micro-aggressions against Minorities The term micro-aggressions are consider a brief everyday exchanges that send demeaning messages to certain individuals because of their group memberships. The nature of racism has evolve over time from the old fashioned overt expressions of White supremacy and racial hatred to the more subtle, ambiguous, and unintentional expressions called aversive racism. Because most White people associate racism with hate crimes and White supremacist groups, they are unaware how racism has taken on an invisible nature to the extent that they have lost the perception of unintentional racism towards people of color. White Americans believe that discrimination is on the decline, that racism is not a significant issue that has an impact in their behavior and performance. In contrast, Black Americans perceive that racism is a constant reality in their lives, White individuals continue to respond toward them.
Racial Disparity in Sentencing Racial disparity in sentencing can cause problems within a community. Public outcry can stir tension between the police and the community, people from different socioeconomic backgrounds, and can even cause riots, like in the case of Rodney King vs. the L.A. police department. This is why it is important for the justice system to be aware of the disparities in sentencing, and make an effort to fix the problem. Before the problem can be fixed the problem needs to be identified. The idea behind this research is to try and point out some of the disparities in sentencing, and possibly offer some potential ways to reduce the problem.
From racial profiling to other issues such as affirmative action, police brutality against minorities and the history of slavery and the rising resentment against immigrants.” (Anup Shah 1998) I think this really does suit racism in the United States. Yes it has come a long way from what it used to be like but we still have problems just like this all over the world. Way back in the day American people didn’t have much racism towards them but Americans were very racist towards everyone who was not American. They had all sorts of racial groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, save our state, and gay groups. These groups of hate have died down over the years but there are still a few out
Based on sociological facts, I believe this law will continue to have adverse effects. Sadly, those will suffer are young black or Hispanic men who are normally regarded as looking more suspicious or threatening than those of other races. I strongly believe that an amendment to the stand your ground law to include a ‘duty to retreat if safely possible’ is necessary and way overdue. There are several ways in which the Stand Your Ground law can come into play. For example, law enforcement officers sometimes use the Stand Your Ground law as a basis for not arresting an individual if discovered that they acted in self defense.
All my life I have heard what I consider to be racial slurs. I am sure that some people do not mean what they say to sound racist, but it comes out sounding that way all the same. Some of the one I have heard are, “With a nose that big he must be Polish,” or “It is a known fact that black men have very large feet.” The one I hate the most is “I can tolerate minorities as long as they know their place.” I find it very hard to be around people who think like that. The concepts of race and ethnicity seem to be important to United States society because the U.S. is so racially and ethnically diverse. The U.S. has always had an open door policy concerning people who want to live here.
A "profile" is a coherent set of facts - known conditions and observable behavior that indicate a particular individual may be engaged in criminal activity. The technique of "profiling" is a well-known and long-standing law enforcement tactic. In fact racial profiling can make us less safe. Multiple studies have shown that when police focus on factors such as race, they tend to pay less attention to actual criminal behavior. This is a dangerous trend that can inhibit effective law enforcement and ultimately endanger the lives of all persons who depend on law enforcement for protection.