Spencer Baxter

Intro to Criminal Justice

Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement

Racial profiling and biased policing in law enforcement in America have psychological

effects on both the police and the community. It affects the way law enforcement does their job,

and has psychological impacts on the black and latino communities, as well as any other

marginalized group. I will cover the history of the problem, discuss how a suspect's race affects a

police officer's use of force early on in an interaction, as well as provide examples of past and

present encounters that didnt end well for either side. It is also important to discuss what can be

done to change it. Racial profiling can often result in police violence due to the sometimes

hostile relationship between law enforcement and the black and latino communities.

From an early stage in American History we have had social divides between white and

black people, resulting in an uphill battle for equality. We still witness racism both in and outside

of law enforcement and this creates hostility towards/from law enforcement. Racial profiling can

be avoided if we create a better trust system between the police and the community. If we can get

rid of the stereotypes created over the years it would be a lot easier for law enforcement to do

their job correctly and efficiently. Unequal treatment when making an arrest even effects the

prison demographics. This issue also results in an increase in police shootings, creating grief for

the families of the victims, and psychological damage to the police officer who was involved.

It is crucial to look back at the history of racial profiling when analyzing the problems we

see today between law enforcement and targeted encounters. Racial profiling in its early stages

involved police intentionally making sure that African Americans would be kept in a lower social

class, and treated differently. According to Skolnick (2007), by the 1950s we see this trend
continue as white policeman were expected to use stereotyped categorization, and interactions

involved exaggerated dialect. Skolnick (2007) also wrote that violence in the 1960s and 1970s,

usually touched off by an encounter or arrest of a black man by a white police officer (p. 66).

Exaggerated dialect sounds to me like we were essentially training police officers to use an

aggressive tone when encountering any people of color. We see this conflict forming between

police officers and the black and latino communities and the country needs to do something

about it.

The more incidents that happen involving the police targeting race that have violent

outcomes, the more the fire is fueled, and in some cases can lead to dangerous riots. Moving into

the 90s we saw the beating of Rodney King that lead to riots in the streets of L.A. because the

officers that beat this defenseless black man, were caught on tape and shown to the public. More

recently we have seen cases like Trayvon Martin, and Mike Brown that have had huge impacts in

the black community. It also makes it difficult for police to return to work after incidents that

have mass media coverage, and the press may not put the police in the best light. Whether or not

a police officer is within their right to open fire at a suspect, it always raises people's concerns

and creates awareness for both sides. Law Enforcement and the public feel threatened in this

conflict and it is going to take time to change the culture of police work, and how to bridge gaps

by connecting with the local community.

Some examples of recent cases of racial profiling, or violent acts involving different

races, include Trayvon Martin, and Mike Brown. Both of them young black males that were shot

by older white males. Kahn (2017), covers a study that was done on how a suspect's race affects

a police officer's use of force early on in an interaction (p. 119). They took use-of-force case that

involved physical contact with the officer, and out of 62 White, 42 Black, and 35 Latino suspects
the Black, and Latino side was shown to have earlier signs of force within the interaction. So

what we are seeing it today in interactions with those communities is that the police are more

likely to be aggressive in assuming the suspect could be doing something illegal. We also see

from this study that an interaction with a white suspect takes longer to result in physical contact

due to the police officer's reaction. In an academic journal written by a New York University

Law student, Childers (2012), stated that over the last ten years there was more data from traffic

stops on our highways. In Illinois they saw significant discrimination against Black, Hispanic,

and Asian motorists. These results can help drive a better infrastructure from within the police

academies, properly training cadets to treat all drivers with the same respect.

In the book Exploring The Police by John Hill (2008), we read about a New Jersey police

officer that is new on the force and encounters a deadly situation when he encounters two black

males. Would the officers decision change to not approach the vehicle if they were white male

suspects? They were pulled over on a freeway ramp and the officer was wondering if they were

just lost or thinking of making an illegal U-turn. This officer was taught some unwritten rules in

police work. He didnt really understand them, but was expected to just go along with what his

peers were doing. Some of those unwritten rules involved racial profiling, and when to make

arrests due to how much paraphernalia a suspect had on them. Hill (2008) stated It is an

unwritten rule that you never arrest a 2B (Black male) unless you had at least an ounce of

coke; bullet of heroin; loaded weapon; or at the minimal, a pound of marijuana (p. 105). While

this example might not be directly related to racial profiling, it is an example of these unwritten

rules in police work that result in different treatment when interacting with a potential suspect.

This officer didnt even want to bring him in when he found a crack pipe on him because the

other officers would give him a hard time if it wasnt a large bust, and the suspect was black.
Hill (2008) goes on to say Pathetically, it was a numbers game that we were all aware of, and as

unfair as it was, we had to play along to keep the stats even-keeled (p.105). Racial profiling and

unequal treatment when making an arrest even effect the prison demographics. In this example

we see an officer that was going to let the suspect off but then he tried to get back in his car and

ended up dragging the officer with him. In the mayhem the officer and the suspect were shot and

survived. The impact of that single encounter with two young black males left psychological

scars, and the officer got a plaque during a luncheon, a small consolation when the man almost

lost his life on duty (p. 109).

What can be done to change racial profiling? With a history of so many issues between

the police and targeted groups it is hard to break the cycle of racial profiling, racism, and results

in an increase in deaths from police shootings. We can implement continued learning on the

subject, in the form of mandatory classes that law enforcement have to take educating them on

proper procedure regarding illegal activity. It can also be viewed from the side of the police, they

need to build trust from the targeted groups, so that in the future if police approach them it's not

because of their race or appearance and for a legitimate reason.

In conclusion racial profiling will always be an issue in law enforcement as long

as there are continued stereotypes towards certain races. Our country has a history of unfairly

treating groups, especially the black community. We can hold the police accountable if we use

data such as traffic-stop data to see if a certain groups are being targeted in certain states. From

either the polices view or the victims of racial profiling/violence, there has to be a middle

ground we can reach as a country to minimize casualties and eliminate fear in such targeted

communities. The most important thing we can implement in our law enforcement is proper

communication tactics and handling procedures if a suspect gets hostile or non-compliant. If

racial profiling is eliminated it will put the focus of police work on criminals that are actually

committing crimes, and put faith back into the groups that have been targeted over the years. The

physical and psychological effects of racial profiling can be avoided if open communication and

education are made a priority to both the police and the community.
References

SKOLNICK, J. H. (2007). RACIAL PROFILINGTHEN AND NOW.

Criminology & Public Policy, 6(1), 65-70.
doi:10.1111/j.1745-9133.2007.00422.x

Kahn, K. B., Steele, J. S., McMahon, J. M., & Stewart, G. (2017). How Suspect Race Affects
Police Use of Force in an Interaction Over Time. Law & Human Behavior (American
Psychological Association), 41(2), 117-126. doi:10.1037/lhb0000218

Childers, S. (2012). DISCRIMINATION DURING TRAFFIC STOPS: HOW AN ECONOMIC

ACCOUNT JUSTIFYING RACIAL PROFILING FALLS SHORT. New York University Law
Review, 87(4), 1025-1059.

Hill, John (2008). EXPLORING THE POLICE A Book of Readings

Turnpike Trooper: Racial Profiling and the New Jersey State Police 104-109