Racial Profiling is Necessary Essay -- Race Racism Prejudice Essays

In order to understand racial indite, it must first be correctly defined. Although different authors use different criteria for the term racial profile, Merriam-Websters definition for the word racial is of, relating to, or based on a race (Merriam-Webster, 2006 p.855). The definition the dictionary puts forth for profile is the act of suspecting or targeting a person solely on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior (Merriam-Webster, 2006 p.830). Based on these definitions, racial profiling could be defined for punishable justice purposes as targeting a person based solely on the characteristic of race. Most people, law enforcement officers included, would consider racial profiling based on this definition as ethically wrong. However, a case must be made for the use of profiling based on race in almost circumstances. Critics claim that racial profiling has no place within the justice system because it targets minorities who are not necessarily doing anything illegal. T hey argue that the evidence that shows that racial profiling as a successful tool in the law enforcement arsenal is skewed, and that those targeted are actually less likely to perform illegal acts than others who are not targeted, because those who are not are less likely to get caught, while those who are targeted are much more likely to be caught in an illegal act, so they will perform less illegal activity. The evidence supporting racial profiling states that this argument is invalid because many illegal acts are cited as being d atomic number 53 by minorities, specifically in terms of gang activity. Many people feel that racial profiling is ethically sound because in order to obtain a suspect, an officer must be looking for a person with certain chara... ...rians perspective and he believed that any profiling based on race is wrong (Fredrickson, 2002 p.166).ConclusionBased on these authors, as well as others, it can be effectively argued that racial profiling is not, in and of itself, an unethical practice. However, it must be utilize in a precise manner in order to be morally sound. This method includes exploitation it as a tool in the investigative process and not before it has been determined that a crime has been committed. It must also be used in a specific way to describe an individual suspect and not a group of people who are suspected of possibly committing one crime or another. The witnesss background and bias must be taken into account, and racial profiling must be done every bit and without favor to one racial group. After these steps are taken into account, racial profiling cannot be considered unethical.