NCJ Number
196245
Journal
Criminal Justice Volume: 17 Issue: 2 Dated: Summer 2002 Pages: 36-41,59
Date Published
2002
Length
7 pages
Annotation
The author reviews recent studies that question the effectiveness of racial profiling as a law enforcement tool while offering support for the position that better results can be obtained by the use of more traditional policing methods.
Abstract
The paper notes that before September 11th, 2001, the courts had all but abandoned any efforts to deter racial profiling by the police. This trend was particularly unfortunate because of new data that became available in the late 1990's that showed racial profiling to be an ineffective means of criminal investigation. "Hit rates" -- the rates at which police find the drugs, guns, or whatever else they seek -- are significantly lower for race-based stops than for non-profile policing stops. The profiling of African-Americans and Latinos promoted mistrust of the police, cynicism regarding the law, and increased skepticism about police officer credibility. The pre-9/11 racial profiling problem had, however, begun to be addressed despite the courts' abdication of any oversight role, largely because of revealed abuses and mobilized public opinion. This paper argues that the "new" racial profiling of persons supposedly of Middle Eastern appearance is likely to be as ineffective as the older forms for similar reasons. Focusing on persons of a certain race or ethnicity also expands the suspect pool so that police resources are spread thin while heightened mistrust of the police among Middle Eastern communities in the United States cuts off valuable sources of information. Inadequate resources are left to investigate the most likely suspects based on behavioral cues.