Racial profiling

Racial profiling has been defined variously as:

1. using race as the only or main consideration in suspect profiling or other law enforcement practices
2. any consideration of race in preparing profiles of suspected wrong-doers

It can often be difficult to determine what an advocate's position on "racial profiling" is, unless they state which definition they are using. Otherwise opposing advocates can each claim that they are against "racial profiling" while taking opposite sides regarding a particular police department's practices.

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While now generally associated with the police and (in the United States) accusations of racial discrimination against blacks, the issue came into national spotlight because race was included among the factors used by aviation authorities to catch terrorists boarding airplanes.

Virtually all advocates agree that race ought not to be the only factor in suspect profiling (definition 1). The police should not, for example, pull over only black speeders while letting whites go.

Some groups say that if a disproportional number of members of a race are stopped, searched, or arrested -- compared to the general population or to other races -- it must necessarily be due to discrimination. These groups regard the disproportion as evidence of "racial profiling" and oppose it. They want police to reduce the disproportion.

Other groups, in contrast to this view, claim that the disproportion is primarily a result of disproportional behavior by members of certain races. Some studies have reported that blacks are nearly twice as likely to speed by over 15 MPH, for example. These groups deny that the disproportion is due to "racial profiling" and do not call on police to reduce it.

Including race as one of several factors in suspect profiling (definition 2) is generally supported by the law enforcement community, though there are many notable exceptions. It is claimed that profiling based on any characteristic is a time-tested and universal police tool, and that excluding race as a factor makes no sense. Minorities commit a disproportionate amount of crime, it is claimed, so they get more attention from law enforcement. Proponents claim that suspect profiling that deliberatel omits race results in less effective, inefficient law-enforcement.

The DEA taught state troopers some common identifying signs of drug couriers:

1. nervousness;
2. conflicting information about origin and destination cities among vehicle occupants;
3. no luggage for a long trip;
4. lots of cash;
5. lack of a driver's license or insurance; the spare tire in the back seat;
6. rental license plates or plates from key source states like Arizona and New Mexico;
7. loose screws or scratches near a vehicle's hollow spaces, which can be converted to hiding places for drugs and guns.

The agency also shared intelligence about the types of cars that couriers favored on certain routes, as well as about the ethnic makeup of drug-trafficking organizations.

According to some advocates, only the non-racial factors are justified in suspect profiling; police should ignore any ethnic or racial information they have on people involved in the illegal drug trade. These advocates regard the inclusion of racial characteristics, even as one of several factors as "racial profiling" (definition 2) and oppose it.

Organizations such as NAACP and the ACLU are staunchly opposed to "racial profiling". Most crime is committed by whites, they say, and profiling based exclusively on race (definition 1) singles out minorities such as African-Americans and those of hispanic descent. They also dispute the claim that more crime is committed by minorities. Some also take issue with the police having the prerogative to use race as a factor (definition 2), as this leaves minorities little recourse if unfairly harassed by police.

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack the issue of "racial profiling" has become topical, as the urgency of preventing terrorists from boarding aircraft has again risen. Opponents of the practice of considering the race of terrorist suspects (definition 2) say that the gains made from targeting an ethnic group are not outweighed by the feeling of insecurity that innocent members of that group are subjected to.