Racial Profiling (human Right) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Racial Profiling (human Right) - Essay Example President George W. Bush has promised that he would end racial profiling shortly after taking office but there has been no improvement. Despite this, there has been an increase in racial profiling and the study also showed that states law does not provide sufficient and consistent protection against profiling. An extensive research done by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) showed that, national security is undermined when law enforcement uses racial profiling as a surrogate for criminal suspicion. Racial profiling should stop before it eradicates the crime fighting gain of the last decade especially in the inner cities. Whenever enforcement statistics shows high rates of minority stops and arrests, the anti-profiling activists usually makes police an all but overwhelming presumption. Racial profiling has been primary focusing on the highway stop and police has been accused of pulling over a lopsided number of minority drivers in order to look for drugs rather than stopping a spender next to him. The driver may have committed an infringement but the reason for stopping him is his race. (Mac Donald, 2001) Racial profiling causes distrust and tension between the police and the community and this in turn affects all aspects of criminal justice systems. One of the fundamental principles of democracy is a guarantee of all individuals to equal protection under the law. Despite this, there has been a steady decline in the crime rate in nearly every community in the United States for the past eight years. "Law enforcement officers should not endorse or act upon stereotypes, attitudes, or beliefs that a person's race, ethnicity, or national origin increases that person's general propensity to act unlawfully". (Mc Devitt, Farrell, and Ramirez, 2000). According to Mc Devitt, Farrell, and Ramirez, (2000), it is through data collection that law enforcement agencies should address concerns and allegations regarding discriminatory policing. Data collection of information on the nature, character, and demographics of police enforcement practices, enhances the ability to assess the appropriate appli cation of the authority and broad discretion entrusted to law enforcement. United States should have both effective enforcement and protection of the civil rights of all Americans. The U.S Department of Justice is set about developing a resource guide on resource guide on racial profiling data collection systems to encourage voluntary data collection. The American news media exploded with coverage of the racial profiling problem in the late 1990s. The local and national press had illustrated the individual and social costs of racial profiling. The community of color had been labeled the phenomenon with sarcastic terms such as "driving while black" or "driving while brown." According to survey that was conducted, it confirmed that most Americans, regardless of race, believe that racial profiling is a significant social problem. Gallup Poll released on 9 December , 1999 showed that more than half of Americans polled believed that police actively engage in the practice of racial profiling and, more significantly, 81 percent of them said they disapprove of the practice.1 According