Racial Profiling essays

Racial Profiling essays In 2000, the University of Southern California School of Planning and Development conducted a study for the Sacramento Police Department to determine whether vehicle stops made by officers over represented minority drivers which was a result of racial profiling and where and in what conditions this over representation was most likely to take place. The work was also meant to show if minority drivers are often more subject to intrusive procedures associated with these stops. Racial profiling is generally understood to mean law enforcement activities that are inappropriately initiated on the basis of race most associated with vehicle stops by police officers. The practice of racial profiling became controversial as the public came to believe that race was being used as the sole criterion to which drivers were being stopped and resulted in numerous stops and searches of innocent people. Findings from this study demonstrate an observed over representation of minority drivers among those stopped do not necessarily reflect racial profiling or racially biased policing stemming from department policy or an individual officers motivation. The observed over representation of this kind might reflect greater likelihood among members of a particular race of committing violent or property crime. The stopping of individuals of this race may be said to result from information (leading) the police to a particular individual even if the individual or individuals may or may not be the ones sought. This does not justify a practice by police officers of stopping people of a given race just because others of that race commit crimes. The Sacramento Communit y on the contract specifies race be only one factor that leads police officers to a given individual. During the studys first year, the USC Team carried out an intensive procedure to confirm accuracy of data reported by officers making vehicle stops. Team members conduc ...