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RACIAL PROFILING

What is racial profiling?

Racial profiling is defined as any police-initiated action (including surveillance, detention, search, arrest, or other intervention) that relies to any degree on the race, ethnicity, or national origin of the individual – except when police seek a specific individual described in part by race or ethnicity. In most cases of racial profiling, police officers stop motorists of certain ethnic groups because of stereotypes that say certain ethnic groups are more likely to commit a crime than other groups.

“Driving while Black or Brown” or DWB is a slang term for racial profiling adapted from the actual illegal condition “driving while intoxicated.”

What are some examples of racial profiling?
  • “Out of place” or “border patrol” stops: when the police stop and search motorists of color because their mere presence in what is usually a predominantly white suburban or rural area is viewed as suspicious.

  • “Urban control” stops: certain individuals are targeted because they are young, black, and in a “high drug-trafficking area.” The police usually justify this injustice as a crime-fighting tool in inner-city neighborhoods.

  • “Highway drug interdiction stops”: when patrol officers hoping to interdict contraband improperly and illegally use race as an indicator of criminality.
Is racial profiling legal?

No. The Fourth Amendment in United States Constitution protects your rights to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, meaning that the police must have reasonable suspicion that a crime is occurring before they stop a suspect. Also, under the Equal Protection Clause to the Constitution, as well as federal and state civil rights laws, the police may not consider race in their enforcement activity, except when they seek a particular person described in part by race.

Why is racial profiling wrong?

Racial profiling violates the democratic ideals of the United States. It does not abide by this country’s commitment to equal protection under the law for all persons. It is also an ineffective law enforcement strategy. Studies have demonstrated that the more an officer engages in racial profiling, the less chance he or she has of finding contraband.

Where does the concept of racial profiling come from?

The term “racial profiling” is new, but the concept is not.

  • Racial profiling has existed in various forms since the end of slavery. For example, during Reconstruction, “black codes” made it punishable by imprisonment or indentured servitude for African Americans to loiter, be unemployed, be drunk, or be in debt.

  • Characterizations of people of color as menacing figures have long been part of mainstream media and culture in the U.S.

  • The “war on drugs” perpetuates racial profiling. Some officers are specifically told to keep an eye out for drivers who belong to "ethnic groups associated with the drug trade,” although the premise that minorities commit the most drug offenses is false. Also, officers are given excessive and unmonitored discretion to decide whom to stop and search, which gives free reign to discriminatory law enforcement.
What can be done to prevent racial profiling?

The solution is accountability. That means data collection and analysis. Police must document their traffic stops and pedestrian detentions, including the race of the civilians involved. Supervisors must then compile the data in a computer system, and analyze it to determine whether any individual officers are engaged in racial profiling. Any measures to prevent racial profiling are unlikely to succeed without benefit of data collection.

How prevalent is racial profiling in Illinois?

A study prompted by a 1994 lawsuit and submitted in 1999 by the ACLU brought to light the pervasiveness of racial profiling on Illinois roads. Experts concluded that among state troopers, especially those assigned to a drug interdiction program called “Operation Valkyrie,” racial profiling is a common practice.

  • Although Hispanics comprise less than 8% of the Illinois population, and take fewer than 3% of the personal vehicle trips in Illinois, they comprise 27% of the searches conducted by Valkyrie officers. In the area surrounding East St. Louis, Hispanics comprise less than 1% of the local driving-age population but comprise 41% of the searches.

  • Even though African Americans comprise less than 15% of the Illinois population and take approximately 10% of the personal vehicle trips in Illinois, they comprise 23% of the searches conducted by Valkyrie officers.

  • While troopers ask a higher percentage of Hispanic drivers than white drivers for consent to search their vehicles, they find contraband in a lower percentage of the vehicles of Hispanic drivers. This demonstrates that searches are based on race, not results.

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