Is racial profiling an effective tool in policing or is it an abuse of civil rights? First of all, what is racial profiling? According to Google, racial profiling by definition is the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense. Would you feel safe in a community where the cops racially profiled and harassed the innocent based on the color of their skin?
Bob Herbert, author of “Jim Crow Policing” brings this question to the table and presents data that proves racial profiling is occurring within the police department, New York specifically, and that it most definitely is NOT an effective way tool in policing. In fact, Herbert calls racial profiling “bogus” and “unconstitutional”.
Herbert discusses the issue of racial profiling and gives the New York City Departments statement/ excuse as to why there are statistics that show more blacks and Hispanics are stopped more frequently than the whites. The Police Department reported that they believe their methods and reasoning for stopping innocent people helps fight crime and is life saving. To this, Herbert says these stops of innocent people are unconstitutional and when the Police Department tried to further justify their…show more content… This website states that “Per 10,000 residents, the Black stop rate was 3,400 stops higher than the White stop rate, and the Hispanic stop rate was almost 360 stops higher and Frisked Blacks were 42.3 percent less likely to be found with a weapon than frisked Whites, and frisked Hispanics were 31.8 percent less likely to have a weapon than frisked Whites.” This further proves that Herbert presented factual evidence about racial profiling. Why is it that blacks and Hispanics are stopped more frequently yet whites outnumbered them with the possession of contraband items even though they are stopped
