Whether or not profiling is considered good or bad depends
on how it is used. Racial profiling has
been defined by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional based on the ‘equal
protection’ clause. This means that law
enforcement stopping someone for no other reason than their race is illegal –
as it should be.
Regarding racial profiling some evidence has been developed
based on statistics provided by police officers that it does exist, at least it
would appear so to some. Law enforcement
personnel are required to note in their reports the race of the individual
stopped or cited for traffic violations.
What does this mean? Well, based
on the percentage of a certain racial minority in a given jurisdiction, it
appears that African Americans and Hispanics are stopped and/or cited more than
Caucasians. The percentage difference is
not great, but is statistically significant.
What is never adequately explained in the research are the
extenuating circumstances that led up to the traffic stop. Did the police officer know prior to
initiating the stop that the driver or passengers in a vehicle were
minorities? Are there certain cultural
differences that are suspicious, but not necessarily criminal, that might trigger
a police response? Such as inordinately
loud music on the car radio, strange modifications to vehicles like blacked out
windows or graffiti, unusual driving patterns, drivers exchanging words or
gestures with pedestrians, vehicle cruising slowly through a residential
neighborhood at night and I could continue.
However, as they say ‘statistics can lie’ and often do when a particular
group with a vested interest applies statistics. But, of course, the elephant in the room that
no one wishes to mention is that percentage-wise more crimes are committed by
certain minority groups.
When I say minority groups, I mean this in the wider sense
and I’m not necessarily saying people of color.
Young men and teenagers might be considered a minority group. Caucasians within a certain ethnic group or
with negative associations might be considered a minority. Police know and understand these patterns and
tend to act accordingly.
Behavioral profiling in criminal cases, although not new, is
becoming a major trend in police agencies, including the FBI. It is one more tool used to identify criminal
suspects, particularly in the areas of ‘crime against person,’ such as sexual
assault and murder.
Criminal profiling is as old as police work. Many experienced police investigators use
criminal profiling and call it intuition or instinct. That is pretty much what the FBI’s Behavioral
Science Unit does except they have taken profiling to another level by using
quantitative analysis, massive data and computers. Does the BSU generally provide more accurate
analysis or opinions than an experienced police investigator? Maybe, but not always. Much of what the BSU provides would be
considered ‘common sense’ by a very experienced investigator.
There is nothing particularly mysterious about
profiling. We all do it every day as we
pass people on the street or observe them in the check-out line. It is a skill we all learn early on in
life. If you didn’t possess that skill,
you would be a sorry individual indeed – bungling through life, having people
continually take advantage of you, and would probably not survive to old
age. Do I exaggerate? I don’t think so. Do we sometimes make mistakes? Yes.
True Nelson
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