Police Profiling

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how the term "police profiling" has a contentious and controversial history. One point of view is that police profiling is seen as a useful and necessary part of law enforcement - particularly in an era that is characterized by terrorism and terrorist activities. On the other hand there is also a legitimate concern that police profiling can be an instrument of discrimination and that it is not sophisticated enough to avoid abuse of the system. This has led to many allegations of discrimination and unjust treatment by sectors of the public. This paper discusses both of these views in an attempt to establish the pros and cons, as well as the relative effectiveness, of this law enforcement technique.

Outline:
Introduction
Racial Profiling and Discrimination
The Contemporary Context
Summation and Conclusion

From the Paper:

"While police profiling is intended in theory as a neutral process enabling better law enforcement control, it has been significantly associated with racial profiling and other forms of discrimination. However it should be noted at the outset that there is a real and particular difference between police profiling and racial profiling. On the other hand there are also those who contend that the difference between profiling and racial discrimination is open to suspicion and that police profiling can easily become racial discrimination. From this point of view the police profiler is seen as one who targets and identifies certain groups as being more involved in criminal activities than others. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bass, S. ( 2001) Policing Space, Policing Race: Social Control Imperatives and Police Discretionary Decisions. Social Justice, 28 (1),156.
• Bork, Robert H. (2003) Civil Liberties after 9/11. Commentary, July-Aug. 2003: 29+. Retrieved April 6, 2007, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001957417.
• Dunnaville C. ( 2000) Unequal Justice Under the Law-- Racial Inequities in the Justice System. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:wZwbIy1o4TcJ:www.vsb.org/docs/valawyermagazine/dec00dunnaville.pdf+Unequal+Justice+Under+the+Law%E2%80%94+Racial+Inequities+in+the&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&lr=lang_en&client=firefox-a
• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE RACIAL PROFILING REPORT. Retrieved April 7, 2007, from http://www.upenn.edu/almanac/between/2004/profiling-summary.html
• Harris, David A. ( 2003) The Reality of Racial Disparity in Criminal Justice: The Significance of Data Collection. Law and Contemporary Problems, 66(3), 71+.

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