Pros & Cons of Racial Profiling
Despite the civil rights victories of 30 years ago, official racial prejudice is still reflected throughout the criminal justice system. For people of color in cities large and small across this nation, north and south, east and west, Jim Crow "justice" is alive and well. Today skin color makes you a suspect in America. It makes you more likely to be stopped, more likely to be searched, and more likely to be arrested and imprisoned. Tens of thousands of innocent motorists on highways across the country are victims of racial profiling. And these discriminatory police stops have reached epidemic proportions in recent years - fueled by the "War on Drugs" that has given police a pretext to target people who they think fit a "drug courier" or "gang member" profile. We must put an end to the practice of racial profiling. For example: September/October 1998"Racial Profiling" in News Reporting"Racial profiling--the discriminatory practice by police of treating blackness (or brownness) as an indication of possible criminality--has lately been the focus of frequent legal or legislative action, resulting in a significant amount of coverage in
Would you be willing to testify in court about your experiences with the police? Please circle: YES NO 55. Their belongings were strewn along the highway, trampled and urinated on by the dogs. The troopers searched their car and brought in drug-sniffing dogs. )Maryland"In 1997, Charles and Etta Carter, an elderly African-American couple from Pennsylvania, were stopped by Maryland State Police on their 40th wedding anniversary. When Brown replied that he did not need any assistance, the officer told him to get behind the car and proceeded to handcuff him. Have you notified anyone else about your complaint? Please circle: YES NO 47. Price in Crisis, July 1998)New York"Collie Brown was driving from Albany to Bethlehem, with his young daughter asleep in the car, when he noticed that his headlights were dimming. )California - San Diego"In October of 1997, San Diego Chargers football player Shawn Lee was pulled over, and he and his girlfriend were handcuffed and detained by police for half an hour on the side of Interstate 15. One of the officers said that Gammage ran three red lights before stopping after the officer flashed his lights at him. What was the driver's race or ethnicity? 13. If your car was searched, please describe all areas of the car and belongings in the car that were searched. How did you feel about the stop when it occurred? How do you feel about it now? 45. New York Times, 5/8/98, 5/10/98; Nightline, 5/31/98; Time, 6/15/98).
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Acceptance Essays
