Racial Stereotype of Young Black Males Which Lead to Their Death by Shooting People in Authorities - Term Paper Example

Racial Profiling Introduction Muffler (2006, p defines racial profiling as “the practice of targeting individuals for police or security interdiction, detention, or other disparate treatment based primarily on their race or ethnicity, in the belief that certain minority groups are more likely to engage in unlawful behavior.” Racial profiling, especially against the black males in the community, is simply a violation of the constitution that gives protection to ethnic groups. Racial profiling leads to shooting and killing of people, for the sake of security, and based on stereotypes attached to certain races and ethnic groups. Black males are the hottest target for racial profiling, and thus, many young black males have been victims of racial profiling in the history of Africans in America. African-Americans have been victims of racial profiling since the trans-Atlantic slave trade in the 1850s. Why males of African descent face racial profiling in today’s American society is not simply a matter of expression of ethnic practices; rather, it goes back to the convoluted race and gender histories reflecting transformations in social and political processes, resulting in oppression that occurred in conflicting ways, and generated a system of white oppression and racial profiling (Johnson & Stanford, 2002, p.207). After the slaves got integrated into the American society, the Americanization created a new tension. This made them lose their traditional customs and practices, and they lost their identities in the new world. Examples include Sean bell and Travon Martin, who became victims of police brutality. Travon Martin was “the unarmed teenager allegedly killed by a neighborhood watch captain while walking home from a store” (Lee, 2012, para.1). Hence, racial profiling has become an American tradition, because black males have been targeted, shot, gunned down, punished, and tortured, just because of their race. Racial profiling is a social problem because it is giving disadvantage to black males in the community, which is a violation of human rights. If it continues, black males will have no place in the community, and they will go on suffering like inferior beings, becoming scapegoats for every crime and every illegal activity going on in the society. Supporters of racial profiling state that racial profiling is not an aspect of racism; because, it explains that someone is more likely to be a criminal if his appearance matches a particular race. However, even this definition has disadvantaged the blacks, since they have been profiled, unlike whites. Since racial profiling is harming black males, it should be considered as a serious social problem. Racial profiling does involve racism, since whites are not profiled even when there have been a number of cases in America which include whites spreading terrorism. Hence, to promote human equality, racial profiling should be removed, and if surveillance is crucial, then it should be free of racial and ethnic biases (thesis statement). Literature Review Meehan and Ponder (2006) conducted a research on police subculture about racial profiling. They state in their study that, “African Americans are subject to significant racial profiling, as reflected in disproportionate surveillance and stopping by the police when driving through whiter areas” (p.399). They proposed an ecological dimension to racial profiling, by stating that racial profiling is based not only on race but the residential segregation as well. Hit rates for African American males was lower in white areas than in black areas, where white areas means communities where whites live, and black areas refer to black community. Despite lower hit rates, the scrutiny for black males in white areas was still high. This research gives an insight about racial profiling with respect to residential places. There is an interesting research by Engel, Calnon and Bernard (2006). They stated that “all race-based decision making by police officers is motivated by individual police officers racial prejudice” (p.249). Hence, they associated personal attitude with racial profiling, by stating that a police officer’s personal values and standards matter a lot, and this makes racial profiling successful. They also argued that police subculture must implement theoretical models to guide future data collection efforts regarding racial profiling at traffic and pedestrian stops. A lucid research came two years later by Wilkins and Williams (2008) who found out that police divisions, where black police officers were present, were more involved in racial profiling than those divisions where there were no black officers. Although the researchers did not find a clue to this, we may argue that the presence of black officers gave rise to the doubt of leniency toward the blacks by black police officers, so to eliminate this doubt, an increase in racial profiling occurred. Like Meehan and Ponder (2006), Roh and Robinson (2009) have also talked about spatial characteristics that affect racial profiling. According to them, residential areas and geography was related to racial disparity at traffic stops and police treatments. Blacks were subjected to racism at investigatory stops. They were made victims of arrest, search, and felony charge in areas where Blacks or Hispanics resided. More police force was deployed in those areas, which proved that racial profiling involved racism. They found that there was a difference in police strategies for white and black areas. Schafer et al. (2001) conducted a research using traffic stop data from a medium-sized mid-western community, to determine how racism affected police decision-making patterns. They stated that “…race and ethnicity have undue influence on police discretion” (2006, p.184), because of the emergence of catch phrases like “driving while black” and “driving like brown”. They asserted that although it is not easy to prove the relation between racism and racial profiling, yet it is easy to observe how race and ethnic backgrounds affect police decision-making patterns. There is a unique research by Johnson et al. (2011), who talk about public approval or disapproval about racial profiling. They state that public does not approve of racial profiling, and have started recognizing the racial disparity shown to Blacks in traffic and investigatory stops. However, when it comes to terrorism, public supports the use of racial profiling. This research helps us understand public behavior, that public only supports racial profiling in terms of combating terrorism, and not in terms of racism. Proposed Solution One solution is to create mixed communities, because racial profiling prevails in whiter areas more in black areas. As Meehan and Ponder (2006) and Roh and Robinson (2009) suggest, ecological dimensions need to be considered. There should be no disparity shown in black areas, and both black and white areas should be treated fairly. The second solution is to concentrate upon racial profiling in a way that is necessary to catch criminals, not in a way that promotes racism. If police has to find a black criminal, it must scrutinize all African-Americans, but it should not blame African-Americans for each and every terrorist attack or criminality going on in the country. The point is not to make them scapegoats. Being black does not necessarily mean that the person will be a criminal. Anyone, belonging to any race, can be a criminal. If terrorism is to be combated, then everyone should be brought under scrutiny to discourage hatred arising from racial disparity. Third solution, that diminishes racial profiling, is to keep a check on racist practices of police officers. Since personal attitudes matter (Engel, Calnon and Bernard, 2006), it is important to hire such police officers who do not hold racist views. Personal views about racism highly affect the decision-making patterns of police officers (Scahfer et al. 2001). Thus, while hiring police officers, especially while appointing them at investigatory stops in black areas, the officials must make sure that the officers do not hold racist views, so that they treat all men on a fair basis. Doing so will help combat terrorism in a better way. Recommendation My top-recommended solution is the third one. It is important to change the mentality. When police divisions will stop thinking in terms of races and ethnic backgrounds when talking about criminality, that will be the point when racial profiling will start diminishing in its effect. Police officers must realize that race or ethnicity does not have any association with criminal mentality, and whites can be as much criminal in their actions as African-Americans. Overall culture needs to be changed, which will arise from a change in mindset. Authorities should hire such police officers who are not involved in racist practices, since their personal racist views will lead to racial prejudice, which is a main ingredient of racial profiling. Police officers must understand that racial profiling will lead to hatred between different ethnic groups. Since United States is a multiethnic country, there must be union among all races and ethnicities living in the community, so that the country gets stabilized in social terms. Racial profiling only promotes anger and aggression, and conveys the message that there is a system of inequality, where Blacks are to be disadvantaged in all regards. Hence, it is necessary to change the overall culture, so that Blacks and Whites are treated on equal basis. This fair treatment will lead to fewer terrorist and racist attacks in the country, and the need for racial profiling will automatically diminish. References Engel, R.S., Calnon, J.M., & Bernard, T.J. (2006). Theory and racial profiling: Shortcomings and future directions in research. Justice Quarterly, 19(2), pp. 249-273. Johnson. D., Brazier, D., Forrest, K., Ketelhut, C., Mason, D., & Mitchell, M. (2011). Attitudes toward the use of racial/ethnic profiling to prevent crime and terrorism. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 22(4), pp.422-447. DOI: 10.1177/0887403411381801 Johnson, O.A., & Stanford, K.L. (2002). Black Political Organizations in the Post-Civil Rights Era. USA: Rutgers University Press. Lee, T. (2012). Trayvon Martin case: 911 audio released of teen shot by neighborhood watch captain (AUDIO). The Trayvon Martin Case. Retrieved April 29, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/trayvon-martin-911-audio-_n_1354909.html Meehan, A.J., & Ponder, M.C. (2006). Race and place: The ecology of racial profiling African American motorists. Justice Quarterly, 19(3), pp. 399-430. DOI:10.1080/07418820200095291 Muffler, S.J. (2006). Racial Profiling: Issues, Data, and Analyses. USA: Nova Publishers. Roh, S., & Robinson, M. (2009). A geographic approach to racial profiling: the microanalysis and macroanalysis of racial disparity in traffic stops. Police Quarterly, 12(2), pp. 137-169. DOI: 10.1177/1098611109332422 Scahfer, J.A., Carter, D.L., Katz-Bannister, A.J., & Well, W.M. (2006). Decision making in traffic stop encounters: a multivariate analysis of police behavior, Police Quarterly, 9(2), pp. 184-209. DOI: 10.1177/1098611104264990 Wilkins, V.M., & Williams, B.N. (2008). Black or blue: racial profiling and representative bureaucracy. Public Administration Review, 68(4), pp. 654-664. Read More