Law // Racial Profiling
Statement of the Problem (Abstract)
The paper is going to present a social issue that is related to racial profiling as a defensive public policy. In this particular paper on racial profiling, there are several issues that are going to discuss both positive as well as the negative sides of the debate regarding racial profiling as a defensive public policy. The third article is going to present the refutation of the argument that balances the integrity of presented arguments that could provide an insight to better understand racial profiling issues.
Introduction: Racial profiling is regarded as a sensitive issue due to the complexity of the society’s regression of minority groups. This is due to the issue that has been affecting the basic rights of the person in terms of having their gender issues to be questioned without their knowledge. Being born in a certain race has been the subject of controversy since racial profiling has been affecting several institutions, groups, and individuals. As for the definition, racial profiling is referred to as the process of profiling an individual, group, or a community in terms of their racial identity. This is usually done by social welfare services responsible for processing statistical analysis over a certain period of time. Racial profiling will be identifying the specific racial profile of that particular community or a society and then document it for further legal and ethical analysis of an important case in the community[1].
The significance of racial profiling is for documentation of statistical analysis applied by the institution, which will use it for social welfare and anthropological analysis. This is closely related with the processing of sociological analogy of a population wherein there are numerous research analyses that are being undertaken by several interest groups. Another is to ensure that there is a regular monitoring of statistical analysis of a certain group, which provides a regular update for the national statistics of a community regarding the movement of groups basing from their racial profile. In addition, statistical analysis will help other local government units of the society such as the economic, security, political, and transportation sector to determine the type of race known for their mastery of a certain profession or skill that is relevant to the community. This is the reason why racial profiling is an integral part of the community to ensure that complete identification of a group based on race has been applied.
History of Racial Profiling: Racial profiling started even before the modern times. During the ancient civilization, racial profiling already started when high class societies such as the Egyptian Empires, Holy Roman Empires, Chinese Dynasties, and the Aztecs have developed a special identification system that aims to identify a person as based from the color of their skin. The features of their face and the colors of their hair are also considered as an integral part of utilizing it to identify their race. Another thing is about the color of their eyes as well as the structure of their eyes, in which a person from the ancient times would determine if a person is an outsider if there are several features of their face and body that are different from the local community population. In addition, the built of their body is also the basis for racial profiling system by ancient civilization to know if that particular person came from other community or civilization.
In modern times, civilizations have already developed and formed their local communities. However, the issue of supremacy played an important role for determining the hierarchical position of an individual, especially if basing from their racial issues. In the present civilization, the law of supremacy blankets the norm with regards to racial profiling. This accentuates to the classification of race that has been permanently initiated by several communities across the world. Before, there were only three, which are Caucasians, Black, and Asians. But now, there are sub classifications such as Latinos, Middle Eastern, South Asian, Oriental, Mediterranean, Pacific Islanders, and Eastern Europeans. But with the advent of security, there are several race that are regarded as a potential risk to the society, which is why there are issues of racial discrimination in our society due to this particular investigations[2].
Racial profiling in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries
Racial segregation and discrimination has been a major contributor for applying racial profiling in the 19th and 20th centuries. Supremacists were mainly comprised of Caucasians, who were responsible for ranking racial classification according to their conservative beliefs. In this regard, Caucasians were ranked as the supreme race in the world, followed by the colored or the black race. The colored race includes Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Middle Easterners. Racial classification is one way of segregating the whites from blacks and other race to ensure that they will reign supreme. However, there is a problem because this is a basis for initiating discrimination and segregation responsible for provoking violence and criminal acts. Human rights were greatly violated in this regard, which culminates to other criminal acts against minority groups such as the Africans, Asians, Middle Eastern, and the Latinos.
In the advent of Islamic extremism in the 21st century, racial profiling extended into other boundaries of our societies. This time, migrants have been selected due to the issues of terrorism and extremism of a certain community. Middle Easterners and migrants from Islamic countries are being racially profiled by western societies. Islamic terrorism is the major security threat around the world due to the falsified ideological principles of corrupt clerics responsible for promoting wrong mentality to the society. The extent of manipulation towards lower class of the society has been bombarded by coercion, intimidation, and violence. The issues of lone-wolf attacks, organized crime, and highly networked terrorism are three of the most concerning issues why racial profiling is now implemented across the world. This is to prevent foreign individuals to escalate violence towards a certain country that has been targeted by extremists, which is a growing problem to countries with lesser security facilities.
Debate process: Positive argument
There has been an issue with regards to racial profiling issues that should have been concerning the public. But this is mainly for the security of the public, knowing the identity and the profile of a certain individual subjected to investigation. Racial profiling should be allowed to be facilitated for police officers for the reason that they can segregate which among particular group of individuals are more likely to commit criminal activities. This includes investigating the probability rates for Latin Americans, Asian Americans, African Americans, and White Americans. Racial profiling is one of the most efficient ways to improve social security related issues that helps to improve the integrity of our community. Racial profiling can be soon realized as an efficient and accurate way to enhance law enforcement practices that helps to regulate criminal activities in our communities.
With the concept of having a defensible public policy particularly on racial profiling as a significant procedure does not implicate negative issues. It is because it is only aimed at preventing specific groups who were documented to have previous criminal history such as heinous crimes, organized crimes, and negligent criminal activities and intents. Racial profiling is considered to be as an unconventional law enforcement practice but it is an essential consideration for the reason that it can significantly defy criminal activities in our community for a certain period of time. There would be an easier investigative procedure that can be sustained if racial profiling continues for the reason that it allows police officers to maximize law enforcement activities in order to prevent further criminal activities in our community for a certain period of time.
Racial profiling does provide significant contributions with the defensive public policy issue because it helps to decrease the number of violence created by a specific group in the area. Racial profiling can help the society to keep series of records for any individuals who had a history of violence to a particular area. Since the homeland security law was established, profiling is a significant part of law enforcement implementation so that any threats of criminal and terrorist activities can be eliminated. Any individual or group who had previous history of committing violence, intimidation, and coercion allows the defense department as well as other security agencies of a certain governing institution to help prevent future domestic and international terroristic activities. The extent of security threat in a certain community will lessen as the security forces can successfully identify potential extremists as well as criminal offenders when basing from their racial profile after a thorough investigation.
Since the 9/11 terror attacks in New York, law enforcement agencies start to impose stricter rules that would prevent any future attacks that can happen in the future. Creating laws that would help to fight against any issues against criminal activities as well as the possibility of terrorist organizations. Until now, there are more extremist group that has been organized by new leaders who will try to create manipulative behaviors to unsuspecting youngsters as a way to create a new group that escalates violence and intimidation. This means that racial profiling is a defensive public policy for the reason that it helps to identify suspicious groups basing from their demographical profile in order for the law enforcement agencies to have the chance to stop any security risks in the future. Even if there are instances of social oppositions from leftist groups, racial profiling is still a reasonable public policy because it helps to improve social security in our society in the long run.
Negative Argument: Racial profiling should not be a defensive public policy because there are negative social implications that can be sustained to the security of the society despite from raising awareness attributed with the improvement of our society’s improvement. There is a significant impact with regards to equal treatment with other individuals basing from their age. It is because racial profiling means that our government agencies are advocating racial segregation and discrimination especially for non-native American residents. Immigrants would be likely to become as common victims for this particular policy because they can be always subjected with illegal investigative procedures that would violate their rights as a citizen or a working individual. This is the reason why minority groups are asking for the government agencies to stop the reawakening of racial segregation and discriminative practices that could further escalate abusive practices to the concerned groups around the world.
Basing from human rights, there is also a significant violation with regards to implementation of racial profiling. It is because it violates the law against discrimination act, which pertains to the illegal practice of segregating individuals due to their racial identity. Immigrant workers as well as individuals with different race such as African, Latin, Asian, and Native American heritage are going to be subjected with indiscriminate profiling even without their own consent. These individuals and groups can be always becomes prey for bullying activities that can impact their psychological capacity to become unproductive and intimidated by social discriminative behaviors that are eliciting unacceptable treatment of police officers. The thing about supremacy becomes imminent due to racial profiling practices. In return, there will be an increase with the practice of abuse as well as inability for the society to resolve racial discrimination practices towards other individuals or other groups.
The possibility of increasing the number of white supremacists could re-emerge because racial profiling has been a practice from previous societies that only advocate white residents to be given with more privilege than non white residents. Non-white residents can be subjected with other incident cases of violence against their own racial profile because there is a significant implication that would create social disposition regarding racial profiling. Conservative groups could support supremacist’s organizations that could provoke social uprisings across the society due to implementation of racial profiling related issues affecting the integrity of the community. In addition, instead of focusing against terroristic activities that are threatening our society from terrorist organizations, domestic terrorism develops that only target against immigrants and other residents from other race. Criminal activities can also rise due to the issue on racial profiling that will culminate intimidation against other individuals who belong to the minority groups.
Refutation of the argument: By exploring the issue, racial profiling is a brilliant idea that can be suggested by any governing institution especially when aiming to improve the security issues of our society. However, there are significant impacts that can be faced with the implementation of racial profiling due to its racy intents against immigrants and residents with foreign heritage. Residents who have African, Asian, Arabic, and Latin heritage in their blood are going to be at risk for being maltreated and undergoing issues of discrimination and intimidation, coercion, violence, and racial segregation towards the minority groups within the community. The issue is considered to be an unacceptable law because it can cause various cases of conflicting interests that affects the integrity of law enforcement reputation. It is because the issue on using race is a very sensitive case, which can cause social uprising if implemented[3].
Effects of racial profiling
Racial discrimination: This is one of the major consequences when racial profiling will be applied to the society. The nature of enhancing racial discrimination is brought about by the use of racial discriminatory remarks of the public against abusive authorities who will be segregating the rights of the society through separating their identities through racial discrimination. The world will turn back times when racial segregation is rampant across the society. There will be restrictions with regards to employment, security, and welfare that degrade the right of individuals belonging to the minority group. For this reason, racial profiling became a reason for the government to become more cautious on restricting the practice to prevent any issues of wrongly accused individuals involved in illegal activities.
Racial segregation: This is what Islamophobia was born. Racial segregation is the process wherein the society will single out a certain nationality or a race from the general group. The reason behind is all about the existing fear in this particular group of a certain race or a nationality that has been responsible for provoking harm towards other individuals and groups. Knowing that a certain group of individual who already made history to the society to be belonging to a nationality that has previous history of violence, the common society will regard the whole nationality or race to be a potentially hazardous to their community. Segregation with regards to the privilege of employment, allowing the person to seek for refreshment in bars, restaurants, and other recreational centers are also not allowed by certain group of individuals to prevent any risk of harm. The problem is all about the fear of violence, which could cause a falsified belief those results to bashing and initiating emotional abuse towards the person belonging to the minority group.
Resolutions towards racial profiling: For the security agencies, racial profiling should be only allowed to be conducted by the statistical institutions. They are the original respondents to determine the number of population belonging a certain nationality, race, and ethnicity. Coordination of national security agencies with the statistical departments are much better due to the issue of wrongful accusation of innocent individuals or groups who have been blamed for illegal acts that they have not committed from the past. Proper coordination ensures that problems relating with the racial profiling system will be implemented in a fair manner. Government agencies should be trained in order for them to become more associated with proper implementation of standards to prevent any errors that could lead to future problems. Examples are legal and ethical issues that could harm the integrity of the government agencies.
Trainings and seminars are important resolution to encourage government agencies to know more about the consequences of not being able to provide proper racial profiling issues that could affect the integrity of the society. In this position, the phase of racial profiling will only be applied in an acceptable way so that the government institutions will not be at risk for committing in legal disputes with the victims. Knowing more about the proper standards of allowing racial profiling that are only be applied by the statistical personnel should be implemented to let the security agencies to know more about the profile of the individuals registered in the statistical office. Ensuring the profiles of every individuals should be comprehensive and not only with the race because it states with the overall identity of the individual who is aiming to reveal their socio-economic situation and their status to the community where they live as well as work[4].
Implication: It has been learned that racial profiling is a very sensitive issue because it deals with the propagation of hate crimes across the society. Pertaining with political sense, racial profiling affects political structure of the society such as creating significant conflicting issues against existing laws against discrimination and segregation. There are financial factors that can be also being impacted such as making foreign companies to stop their business activities because they believe that they are going to be belittled by law enforcement agencies. Another is all about social implications, in which there is an impaired communication relationship due to differences when it comes to enforcing racial profiling by police officers. In addition, violence can escalate such as riots that can be initiated across the community because it creates distrust and provoking non-white residents to induce oppression against the government and private institutions.
As a suggestive reaction to the paper on racial profiling, learning racial sensitivity should be studied comprehensively for the reason that racial profiling is an unacceptable issue that creates social conflict. Education though information and dissemination campaign should be applied to the public so that they will be able to increase their awareness regarding the effects and facts that are related to racial profiling attributed with the laws of human rights. Law enforcement officials should maintain their advocacy on the prohibition of racial segregation and discrimination in order to prevent social uprising and trust to the society. Racial profiling should be reconsidered for the reason that as a modernized society. These are just some of the issues that can always threaten human rights should be always deliberated before it is going to be implemented in order to prevent issues of mistrust that can destroy the legitimacy of the residents to government leaders responsible for securing the welfare[5].
Bibliography
Apuzzo, Matt & Goldstein, Joseph (2014). “New York Drops Unit That Spied on Muslims”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
Cole, David (2000). Exploring the issue: Is racial profiling defensible public policy? volume 9, issue 1. New York: new Press. Related to: http://www.fishpond.com.au/Books/Clashing-Views-on-Controversial-Issues-Race-and-Ethnicity-Raymond-DAngelo-Herbert-Douglas/9780072917352
Harris, David (2002). Profiles in injustice: American life under the regime of racial profiling. New York: New Press. Summarized at: http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1069&context=facpub.
Johnson, Scott (2003). Better unsafe than (occasionally) sorry? The American enterprise, volume 1, issue 2. New York: New Press. Accessed: http://www.claremont.org/publications/pubid.262/pub_detail.asp
Strassmann, Mark (2015). “DOJ findings on racial profiling all too familiar in Ferguson”. CBS News.
[1] Cole, David (2000). Exploring the issue: Is racial profiling defensible public policy? volume 9, issue 1. New York: new Press.
[2] Strassmann, Mark (2015). “DOJ findings on racial profiling all too familiar in Ferguson”. CBS News.
[3] Harris, David (2002). Profiles in injustice: American life under the regime of racial profiling. New York: New Press.
[4] Johnson, Scott (2003). Better unsafe than (occasionally) sorry? The American enterprise, volume 1, issue 2.
[5] Apuzzo, Matt & Goldstein, Joseph (2014). “New York Drops Unit That Spied on Muslims”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
2017/5022
