Policing and Racial Profiling CJ 341: Police Methods and Organization James C.Thomas The University of Southern Mississippi

In April 2010, Arizona State Governor Jan Brewer signed off on the legislative Act formally known as SB-1070. This Act that was approved by the U.S legislature and was taken into effect June 2010. This law requires all immigrants over the age of 14 who remain in the United States for over a 30 day span to register with the U.S government, as well as possess records of legal registration [1]. Additionally, Arizona made it a state misdemeanor for any illegal alien to be within its state boarders without the appropriate documents readily available, enabling state law enforcement officers to determine an individual’s legal status during lawful contact not specific to any particular action when the officer feels “reasonable” suspicion that the person being stopped is indeed an illegal immigrant. This legislative act is considered the strictest illegal immigration measure in U.S history, it’s received a substantial amount of media attention and incited significant criticism nationwide. Much of its critics claim the Law encourages racial profiling by state police, the fact that at any given moment an officer can stop and ask such incriminating accusations to somebody based solely off of their appearance is completely unethical and unconstitutional. Many are concerned that officers’ efforts to identify and deport illegal immigrants will ultimately violate the civil rights of U.S citizens. As already mentioned throughout the commencement stages of the Police Methods and organization textbook, the U.S people themselves determine the goals of policing and give law enforcement agencies their authority to meet their goals [2], deeming citizen support as a vital part of law enforcement. However, given these new standards of proving legal citizenship like such being administered in Arizona, could prove detrimental to the local police and community relationship. Across the United States, in an attempt to better convey the actual reasoning for which an officer chooses to stop a particular individual, several states require its law enforcement officers to record data regarding what they perceive as the actual race of the individual being detained by authority. The data collected is then analyzed to determine whether officers are profiling minorities during lawful stops based on racial bias. According to independent researcher Don Arp, Jr. police agencies are traditionally given six race choices when completing such post stop paperwork, the choices are: Black, Hispanic, White, Native American, Asian or Other [3]. That being said, legal statues prohibit law enforcement from actually asking those individuals being stopped to self-identify, except in Arizona, which consequently allows and encourages officers to use physical attributes to classify citizens. What makes this system so challenging is the fact that a racial stereotype is necessary to proceed no matter the circumstances, which ultimately contradicts U.S civil rights on its own [4]. If you ask a police officer if racial profiling is a common occurrence in their field services they will almost always deny or give a response that completely diverts the question itself. Undoubtedly police do this to protect their preeminence and authority. Rather than interpreting these denials of racial profiling, as a straight up lie, we’ll try to focus more on those democratic views, which only police seem to see within their own subcultures. See, police perform and act with their shield and subculture in mind at all times, they will try every way possible to perceive themselves as the perfect example of law-abiding citizens. In all reality it’s really an impractical way of viewing themselves, police are human and are entitled to their own views and opinions, however, law enforcement should take more accountability for their racial biases that are being used on a daily basis. According to researcher William Shaffir of McMaster University, he explains that “racial profiling is perceived by the police as one in a series of activities that define their work.”[5]. To say that the regular use of racial profiling is a complete necessity to properly conduct themselves on the job is completely unfathomable, whichever way you look at it. The society we live in today in 2014 is far more diverse and culturally integrated than years past, where racial stereotypes were commonly expressed and manipulated. The fact that law enforcement officers still attempt to oppose the idea that racial profiling even exists in their profession is dishonorable and immoral. Historically, there have been countless examples of racial bias demonstrated by law enforcement; Wilkins v. Maryland, 1992; Gammage v. Pennsylvania, 1995; Diallo v. New York, 1999; [6] only to name a few. That’s not to say that all these cases were exactly alike but they did share the common foundation of an unjustly use of racial profiling to stop and detain a non-suspect. As a result to the countless instances of lawful discrimination that were surfacing in the 80’s and 90’s, police agencies nationwide began hiring more and more minority officers to help deter the idea that they were a white dominant subculture. Law enforcement continues to increase its own hiring of several minorities nationwide to assist in drowning this old idea of an overriding white police population. Law enforcement must understand the state that the U.S is presently in, we have an African American Head of State and several Hispanic and Asian as wells as other minority personnel who currently hold high end leadership positions throughout this country. Through every walk of life, especially here in the U.S we must continue to maintain that a strong police and community relationship, to do this it will take more and more of law enforcement personnel to lessen its intermediate acts of racial bias on the street level of policing. Although in some places such as Arizona, its perceived that they are taking steps back in migrating to a less racially biased society with the passing of laws such as SB-1070. Due to the substantial amount of Hispanic natives across the state it makes their anti-immigrant attempts much more difficult, with regards to racial profiling. Rightful and fair treatment of all U.S citizens has been the foundation to the country we live in, when local law enforcements’ actions give the impression to be motivated by racial dissimilarities, the overall public will undoubtedly lose faith in the people who have sworn to protect them. Without the support of the community surrounding them, police will certainly be hindered from operating to their true operational standards.

References [1] Provine, D., & Sanchez, G. (2011). Suspecting immigrants: Exploring links between racialised anxieties. Policing & Society, Vol.21(No.4), 468-479. Retrieved September 15, 2014, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=6fb77d9c-c2ef-4315-b7f3-2dbbda7cb655@sessionmgr198&vid=11&hid=114 [2] Hess, K., Wrobleski, H., Dempsey, J., Forst, L., & Bennett, W. (2009). Contemporary Policing: An Overview. In Police Methods and Organization (1st ed., Vol.1, pp. 3-5). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. [3] Arp, Jr, D. (2014). Forced Perspective: Police Officers’ Personal Opinions. Police Journal: Theory, Practice and Principles, Vol.87(3), 195-200. RetrievedSeptember 15, 2014, from http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=aad76f62-a920-49a6-9cce-b5d34111f668@sessionmgr4005&vid=4&hid=4207 [4] Constitutional Amendments and Major Civil Rights Acts of Congress Referenced in Black Americans in Congress | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives (Constitutional Amendments and Major Civil Rights Acts of Congress) http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/BAIC/Historical-Data/Constitutional-Amendments-and-Legislation/ [5] Satzewich, V., & Shaffir, W. (2009). Racism versus Professionalism: Claims and Counter-claims about Racial Profiling. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Vol.51(2). Retrieved September 15, 2014, from http://z3950.muse.jhu.edu/journals/canadian_journal_of_criminology_and_criminal_justice/v051/51.2.satzewich.html [6] Correll, J., Park, B., & Judd Bernd Wittenbrink, C. (2005, November 23). Racial Profiling: Definition. Retrieved September 15, 2014, from https://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/racial-profiling-definition