Racial Profiling in the U.S. Criminal Justice System
Student’s Name
Institution

Racial Profiling in the U.S. Criminal Justice System Racial profiling is among the key problems that are cited in the U.S. criminal justice system. The American Civil Liberties Union(2016) defines racial profiling as a discriminatory practice by law enforcement officers of using individual’s race, ethnicity, religion among other traits as grounds for suspicion Racial profiling has particularly affected the black Americans and other minority groups. Research shows that these minority groups and especially the black Americans are overrepresented in the U.S. Criminal system despite the fact that they constitute just a small percentage of the total U.S. population. History of Racial Profiling in the United States Racial profiling is an old problem dating back to a number of centuries ago. The history of racial profiling is ingrained in a number of historical events that cast African Americans in an inferior light. In 1704, South Carolina created the first slave patrol in which white men oversaw black slaves on plantations as well as hunting down fugitive slaves. Black Americans, most of which were slaves had to produce passes as proof of having permission not to be in plantations, or if they had been emancipated, they were required to carry with them freedom papers to show that they were free. Black people were exposed to interrogations, harassments, physical torture and even death if they were found to have run away. Similarly to the modern racial profiling by the police force, a black person’s skin color as opposed to their actions formed the criterion for discriminatory treatment by the law enforcement system of the time (Rushing,2013). During the period immediately after the abolition of slavery, black Americans