Ronealle Edgar Sociology Final Paper 12.20.

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Racial and Social Profiling Violence in the form of police brutality continues to be a major concern for both the public and the law enforcement profession. Unwarranted use of force and other forms of mistreatment of citizens is not uncommon in American History. Law enforcement records dating back to the movement across the Mississippi to the West provide numerous examples of the shoot first, ask questions later or do whatever is necessary attitude of officers. It is a fight that peoples of color and those with low social status face every day. I ask, How and why does social class and ethnicity affect how a citizen is treated by law enforcement?

Police brutality and murder are arguably the most visible, direct and clear expressions of racialized state power in the United States. To say this is an epidemic as many have is somewhat of a simplification. Analysts has described epidemics as an indiscriminate force of nature, seemingly emerging from nowhere, affecting people at random. Many have been arguing about this for years but a lot of us have not seen it as we should. This is what this paper is based on, to show that this is a real threat and provide evidence.

How does a persons social status affect how they are treated by the law? When you have a lot of money, you can afford to get what you want but as always not everyone has all that money. So what do most of us do? We use what we have and take what we can get, but the thing is a lot of us take more than we are given. Some of us believe that its from the fear of not having enough and not being able to acquire more in the future so you take to last. There is always a disadvantage to everything, in this case you start taking more and more overcome with greed. Thats where the crime starts and the law gets involved. It is now a recurring thing among some people of low status, so isnt it obvious who the police will turn their attention to. Im not saying that white people dont commit crimes, because they do. What Im trying to say is that you dont see much of them committing such crimes like stealing. The same goes for people with a higher social status, they dont need to steal to get what they want because they can afford it. By far the largest part-eighty percent, at least- of crimes against property and against persons are perpetrated by individuals who have lost connection with home life and those that are unable to provide for themselves. When you have nothing, you would always want for something, probably want for a lot more than needed. How are you able to support yourself like that without any resources? The majority started asking for help from the government and they were content with what they had for a time until they started getting a lot less than what they were receiving before. More and more people are going to the government for help and who you think would get first preference. Studies has shown that even among the poor, people of color are still considered

as inferior to the whites even though financially they are at the same level. So why do you think people of color are the ones committing the crime.

The police is now used to the kind of crimes people of low status and colored people commit. Stealing and selling drugs, these kinds of crimes which is a lot more common among people of color happens because people just want more whether for their own need or just plain greed. What you need to understand is that not all the blame should be placed on the offenders alone. Yes they are committing the crimes but like I said before some of them are doing it to survive and the law enforcement isnt helping at all. To them criminals are just plain old criminals no matter the offence and to make that worst they believe that people of color are the worst kind and should be treated like the scums they are made to be. The bad thing is, it didnt just start with the police only. It goes back way before the wars to slavery and later on after that, the uprisings of the whites against black. With that kind of mentality a lot of white people are still living in the past and to make that worst they feel that they are being diluted by the rise in population of colored people. You should know that a lot of the police brutalities are often done by the colored police. Those that wants to fit in. Law enforcement are now aware of whom most of the offenders are but the downside to that is they now feel that every person of color and low social status are the ones committing the crimes.

What really is racial profiling? Racial profiling is the use of race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin by law enforcement agents as a factor in deciding who to investigate, arrest, or detain, except where these characteristics are part of a specific suspect description. It is a degrading practice and continues largely unchecked, violating the human and civil rights of those targeted: Members of African American, Native American and Latino Hispanic communities are stopped and searched more often than whites. Since September11, 2001, members of Arab, Muslim and South Asian communities have increasingly been searched, interrogated and detained in the name of "national security", often times labeled "terrorism suspects" when in reality many were only charged with misdemeanors or minor immigration violations, if they were charged at all; In recent years, law enforcement has singled out members of a third population under the guise of immigration enforcement-disproportionately harassing, interrogating, physically abusing and detaining individuals perceived to be Latino or Hispanic, many of them U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. By focusing on arbitrary factors unrelated to criminal activity rather than on specific indicators of criminal behavior or specific information about a criminal suspect, law enforcement agents decrease the hit rate on catching criminals and lose the trust of community members who believe agents to be biased or unjust. As a result, community members become less likely to assist with criminal investigations or seek protection from police when they themselves are victimized, which makes everyone less safe.

What policies do we want changed? In order to promote and protect the human rights of all people regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, national origin or immigration status, Rights Working Group recommends:

1. Congress should introduce and pass the "End Racial Profiling Act" which would ban racial profiling at the federal, state and local level. 2. The Obama Administration should revise the 2003 Department of Justice guidance on racial profiling to eliminate the border and national security loopholes, to include profiling based on religion and national origin, and to ensure that the guidance is enforceable. Sign a Petition. 3. Congress and the Obama Administration should eliminate Department of Homeland Security programs such as 287(g), CAP and the Secure Communities initiative that result in racial profiling.

Although the department of Justice issued guidance prohibiting the use of race by federal law enforcement agencies in 2003, this guidance is not enforceable, it does not address profiling based on religion or national origin, and it leaves a gaping loophole that allows racial profiling for "national security" purposes and at U.S. borders.

Though many have pushed on the fact that the society and its classes play a major role in this, people are still not taking it seriously. In 2003 the Service Police in Montreal created a standing

task force on racial profiling. The following year, it adopted Canadas very first policy to prevent and counteract illicit racial profiling. As you can see there is progress even among the law but the question is, will it work? That we dont know but at least there is a start and the more people see that a lot of us are striving for this the better.

Racial profiling is an ineffective law enforcement tool, harms community security and is profoundly unjust. Banning the practice requires comprehensive federal legislation. The "End Racial Profiling Act" prohibits profiling based on race, ethnicity, religion and national origin by federal, state and local law enforcement agents.

Bibliography

1. http://www.spvm.qc.ca/en/documentation/gd_61.asp 2. http://www.aclu.org/racial-justice/racial-profiling 3. http://www.peopleofcolororganize.com/analysis/cancer-police-violence/ 4. http://www.weareoneamerica.org/racial-profiling-face-truth-campaign