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Allison Brunell
Malvin
ENGL 115
22 November 2016
Racial Profiling and Police Brutality: Putting the Force in Law Enforcement
Putting a stop to racial profiling will create better communities and relationships. Racial
profiling is a police-initiated action which relies on race [or] ethnicity, behavior, and
information that would lead police to an individual who has been identified as engaging in
criminal activity (Cleary 23). This is prevalent throughout the United States, especially in Los
Angeles. The most common targets are minorities, specifically black and Latino people. Racial
profiling of minorities causes them to feel alienated. The looming possibility of experiencing
police brutality makes it harder for minorities to evade the victimization of racial profiling.
Racial profiling creates hostility between law enforcement officers and people of color.
The interactions between these two communities led to the belief that police are predators
looking to prey on minorities. In fact, national surveys indicate that black and Latinos are
more likely to report negative interactions with police than whites (Hughey 8) . The realities of
minority-police incidents indicate just how high the levels of mistrust can be. Racial profiling is
more widespread than most people realize. Members of minority groups have long claimed that
police officers use traffic violations as excuses for pulling them over. This occurrence is so
common; it even has its own name: driving while black (Cleary 7). Police officers may see it

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as an efficient way to reduce street-level crime, but the victims see it as offensive and feel
alienated and discriminated against. Members of minority communities develop a fear of leaving
their immediate town or city because they are afraid of being racially profiled.
Police are both a legal authority and a fraternal brotherhood in which members expect
their brothers to protect one another (Hughey 8). There is an expectation whether it be to
protect one another from harm in the line of duty or in order to cover up mistakes made by
another officer. It is a scary to think that law enforcement willfor the most partdo anything
to protect another officer, even if that officer is guilty. Ultimately, this will not change simply by
wishing it away or having good intentions. Secrecy of the police brotherhood involves cases of
racial profiling, however, with the number of officers covering for the one in question, it makes it
much harder to convict him or her.
Therearefewbenefitsofracialprofiling.Thismethodcanleadtoviolenceandconflict
betweenpoliceandvictims.Ifracialprofilingweretobeeradicated,oratleastminimized.The
eliminationofracialprofilingwouldhaveapositiveimpactonthecommunity.Itmayleadto
moreeffectiveengagementofthecommunityinreducingcrime(Cleary21).Alotof
minoritieshavedevelopedadeepseatedfearofgoingoutsidetheircommunity,whichisavery
realisticresponse.Eliminationofracialprofilingwouldreducethesefearsandmotivate
minoritiesaffectedtotraveloutsideoftheirimmediatecommunity,givingthemanewfound
freedom. Theywillnolongerfearthehumiliationofastopandfrisk,feelinglikeacriminal
whentheyhavetrulydonenothingwrong.Aneradicationofracialprofilingwouldbringthe

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communityandpolicetogether,thuscreatingstrongertiesintheirrelationships.Thepolice
cannotworkwithoutthepublicssupport,theremustbearealpartnership;onebasedontrust.
Werethesetwotocometogetherpeacefully,thepolicemayoffertheirexpertiseandpowers
andthecommunity,inturn,willofferinformationaboutrealproblemsoccurringintheircity
(Restoring a National Consensus: The Need to End Racial Profiling in America). The policecommunity relationship is of paramount importance. While this partnership may be difficult to
build, it is essential for public safety and well-being, and well worth the effort.

Racial profiling is destructive to the bond between law enforcement and the community
in which they serve. Sometimes police officers go rogue and act as immigration agents, so
much so, even lawful residents may avoid police contact simply for the fear of checking their
immigration status (Restoring a National Consensus: The Need to End Racial Profiling in
America, 23). Some of these citizens may not even be immigrants, yet they still fear the
humiliation and alienation of racial profiling. In Always Running by Luis J. Rodriguez, he
explains the police preying on Hispanics and Latinos because they might be in a gang or might
be involved in criminal activity. Police departments made it a habit to roust these men and
women out (95). Using the stop-and-frisk method leads to alienation, which explains why so
many people are afraid to go outside of their town, because they want to avoid as much
embarrassment as possible. Hispanics and Latinos are over-stopped, over-frisked, oversearched, and over-arrested (Ayres 1) . This is the ultimate result of racial profiling, its a scary
reality, and the exact opposite of the end-goal for effective law enforcement.

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Racial profiling is difficult for minorities to escape from, especially with the looming
possibility of wrongful arrest or police brutality. Profiling causes victims to feel alienated and
humiliated. The most common targets of racial profiling are blacks, Hispanics, and Latinos. Law
enforcement officers go rogue and act as immigration agents, which is not in their job
description. Putting an end to racial profiling will create a healthy, trusting relationship between
police officers and members of the communities they serve.

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Works Cited
Ayres, Ian. Racial Profiling & the LAPD: A Summary of Professor Ian Ayres Report on
Racially Disparate Outcomes in the Los Angeles Police Department American Civil
Liberties Union of Southern California, Oct. 2008. aclusocal.org/wpcontent/uploads/2015/09/99227648-Racial-Profiling-the-LAPD.pdf
Cleary, Jim. Racial Profiling Studies in Law Enforcement: Issues and Methodology. Minnesota
House of Representatives Research Department, Jun. 2000.
house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/pubs/raceprof.pdf
Hughey, Matthew W. The Five Is of Five-O: Racial Ideologies, Institutions, Interests,
Identities, and Interactions of Police Violence. Critical Sociology, vol. 41, no. 6, Sept.
2015, pp. 8-9, doi: 10.1177/0896920515589724
Restoring a National Consensus: The Need to End Racial Profiling in America. The
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Mar. 2011.
civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/racial_profiling2011.pdf
Rodriguez, Luis J. Always Running. Simon & Schuster, 2005.