RESOURCE FILES Chapter 11 The Architecture of Inequality: Race and Ethnicity
Racial Profiling Law enforcement agencies around the country—such as police departments, state patrols, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Customs Service, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security—have come under attack in recent years for racial profiling—using ethnoracial stereotypes in making investigative stops. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the government faced the dilemma of trying to balance security concerns with individual freedom. Because of the heightened fear of attack, the use of race—in particular, "looking Middle Eastern"—as a factor in stopping "suspected terrorists" has become a widely accepted law enforcement practice. In fact, not only has the profiling of Arabs and Muslims been tolerated to a large degree, some citizens and even some legislators have actually demanded it on the grounds that these individuals are statistically more likely to be terrorists. 1 But of the thousands of people who have been detained and questioned since 9/11 for looking like possible terrorists, only about 400 have been officially investigated. Of those, 39 have been convicted of crimes related to terrorism or national security, and just 14 have been found to have links to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda. Only a handful of the convictions have involved active plots inside the United States. The majority have been for minor offenses. 2 More commonplace has been the use of racial profiling in traffic and drug enforcement. In Texas, for example, black and Latino/a motorists are significantly more likely than white drivers to be searched during traffic stops, although they're not more likely to be carrying contraband, such as drugs. 3 Police often justify their use of race in deciding which drivers to stop with statistics showing that African Americans and Latino/as are more likely than whites to be arrested and convicted of the most common street crimes. Hence, they have argued, it is statistical reality, not racism, that directs their attention to people of color. According to Bernard Parks, the former police chief of Los Angeles, who happens to be black, It's not the fault of the police when they stop minority males or put them in jail. It's the fault of the minority males for committing the crime. In my mind it is not a great revelation that if officers are looking for criminal activity, they're going to look at the kind of people who are listed on crime reports. 4 For decades, courts in the United States and Canada have allowed such practices. But public attitudes toward racial profiling are starting to shift. Increasingly, targets of the practice are filing and winning discrimination suits. In 1998, a civil rights group and eleven black motorists filed a lawsuit charging that the Maryland State Police used a "race-based profile" in stopping drivers along a stretch of interstate highway and searching their cars and belongings for drugs and weapons. 5 The state of Maryland agreed to stop the practice, although more than two-thirds of the motorists who are stopped on state highways in Maryland continue to be people of color. 6 In a 1999 settlement, New Jersey officials acknowledged in court that state troopers had unfairly singled out black and Latino/a motorists in traffic stops. Several former troopers testified that they would park alongside the turnpike and shine their headlights into passing cars, looking for black drivers to pull over. They would then radio ahead to fellow officers down the road, letting them know that a "carload of coal" or a group of "porch monkeys" was headed their way. 7 Perhaps a comprehensive institutional response can eventually eliminate this type of institutional racism. In 1999, the International Association of Chiefs of Police formally condemned the practice. In 2003, President George W. Bush ordered a ban on racial profiling among federal law enforcement agencies—although the ban does not apply to cases that are deemed to have national security implications. 8 To date, a least six states (including New Jersey) have passed laws banning r acial profiling, and fifteen others are considering doing so.1 Beinart, P. 2003, February 3. Blind spot. The New Republic. 2 Eggen, D., & Tate, J. 2005, June 12. U.S. campaign produces few convictions on terrorism charges. Washington Post. 3 Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. 2005. 2005 racial profiling report. www.criminaljusticecoalition.org/racial_profiling_report_full.pdf . Accessed June 11, 2005. 4 Goldberg, J. 1999. The color of suspicion, pp. 53–54. New York Times Magazine. 5 Janofsky, M. 1998, June 5. Maryland troopers stop drivers by race, suit says. New York Times. 6 Jost, K. 2000, March 17. Policing the police. CQ Researcher. 7 Hosenball, M. 1999, May 17. It is not the act of a few bad apples. Newsweek. 8 Lichtblau, E. 2003, June 17. Bush bans racial profiling, with exceptions for security. New York Times. Study Site for David M. Newman Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life, Sixth Edition |
