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Racial Profiling In Law Enforcement

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Politicians and leaders all around the country are debating what the cause of the hostile society we live in. The answer is simple: racial profiling. The definition of racial profiling is, “the use of race or ethnicity as grounds for suspecting someone of having committed an offense” (Dictionary.com). Law enforcement agencies all around the country use racial profiling to find suspected criminals of crimes, which is completely flabbergasting. Racial profiling in police officers is a continuous problem because it leads to innocent civilians being prosecuted, a fear of police officers, and contributes to societal prejudice.
Countlessly, blameless civilians are pulled over, stopped on street corners, or bombarded with questions by people in the …show more content…
Imagine walking down a street at 9 P.M. in Paterson, New Jersey; the doors on your car are locked, you are constantly looking over your shoulder, and you walk at a quickened pace. Compare this to how you would act walking down a street at 9 P.M. in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey. The behaviors you would demonstrate are polar opposites because the talk of another young black or latino male being shot is all over the news constantly. Racial profiling in law enforcement passes on through society and teaches races to fear each other. Riots break out all over the country because of this issue and it only leads to more violence, more death, and more hatred. Racial profiling is a leading cause of societal prejudism in the United …show more content…
Heather McDonald, wrote an article on the myths of racial profiling and says, “The police aren’t looking for white or black, they’re looking for criminals and they go to the neighborhoods with the highest rates of crime, those tend to be minority neighborhoods. At that point, race is irrelevant” (Wattenberg, Ben. “Think Tank: Racial Profiling as a Myth?”). Philando Castile was shot during a routine traffic stop, next to his girlfriend, because of the suspicion of being involved in a robbery. Police officers all around the country are shooting and killing innocent people all on the assumption of their race (Capecchi, Christina, and Mitch Smith. “Officer Who Shot Philando Castile Is Charged With Manslaughter.”). Someone has to step up and take responsibility for the lack of thoroughness during primary investigations. Instead of taking out a gun and shooting someone because of a gut wrenching feeling, why not use other means of police protection? Using a taser gun or mase is just as effective in temporarily paralyzing someone. Statistics and primary sources completely destroy the idea of racial profiling being fake or a myth.
To conclude, Racial profiling in police officers is a continuous problem because it leads to innocent civilians being prosecuted, a fear of police officers, and contributes to societal prejudice. Racial profiling needs to end and

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