Racial Profiling

This is one of those tricky subjects. I remember having a conversation with my students recently about discrimination. I told them that most discrimination is legal. Also, in many cases discrimination is sociallu acceptable. The term itself -discrimination- has such a negative connotation to it, but truth be told that's only because we are so used to using this word in the context of "bad" discrimination. As an example: employers discriminate based on past work experience. Banks discriminate based on credit history. Doctors discriminate based on health history. Men discriminate based on whether or not they prefer a blonde or a brunette or a redhead. The word itself has catapulted it into a whole new meaning: "bad." I would argue much discrimination is good. Affirmative Action is an example of racial discrimination. Having a feminist theory class at a university is an example of gender discrimination. All the word means is to separate one from another. We are so used to the word discrimination being equated with social evil that we forget what it really means. Similarly with racial profiling, a hundred red flags are waved when the subject comes up to the point where we kind of forget what the word sometimes really means. We need to trust our law enforcement. They do an excellent job especially in tough neighborhoods in the Bronx and Brooklyn. They are trained to make all kinds of different observations in order to best protect and serve the public. One of these observations is an observation of racial make up (subject, perp, victim, anyone). Unfortunately, when we think of the term racial profiling we think of the NJ state trooper that pulls over a driver on I-95 just because he's black. This, yes, is wrong. However, there has been carry-over into everyday police work that actually makes it harder for law enforcement officials to do their job because of the restrictions put on the types of observations they make. When surveyed many law enforcement officials claim that not being able to racially profile handcuffs them, and takes a much needed tool out of their toolbelt. Their jobs would be made easier if they were allowed to follow hunches. These hunches are not meant to oppress, they are meant to serve the public. Police officers best serve when they are allowed to use all tools available. Will some abuse racial profiling, of course. No system is perfect. Lets say that officers have been advised to arrest any day laborer they see waiting in front of delis or 7-11s to be picked up by landscapers. This is the task they have been charged with. It is wholly unrealistic to assume that these officers will question groups of African American or Caucasian men. It is wholly unrealistic to assume that these officers will question individual Spanish women. Yet our legal system, fancy lawyers, and whiny liberals have asked the police officers not to look specifically for a gathering of Latino and Spanish speaking men or else they are engaging in a social evil, one prosecutable. In this overly litigious society, we have handcuffed our law enforcement officials by making them play a dangerous game of pretend. Pretend that illegal day laborers are something other than a moderately large gathering of Latino and Spanish speaking men. Pretend that the only Caucasian vehicle on a street known for crystal meth sales is not copping some drugs. Pretend that its not really Arabs we're looking for at airports its everybody. During the Amadou Diallo trial the 4 police officers claimed they were looking for the Bronx rapist when they approached Diallo. When questioned as to why they thought Diallo may be the rapist, as to why he "fit the description" they gave height, weight, build, a variety of other reasons. But when pressed if they ever considered skin color or race each officer denied that skin color or race was a factor in why they approached him. The reason they did this is because it would have incriminated them. They would have thus become racial profilers. Yet the Bronx rapist is described clearly as being Black, our brave NYC police men and women are scared into even admitting that skin color was the first observation. Now, you might claim that innocent folks will be harrassed because of skin color. This is a serious concern. But I think the opposite is worse. Not allowing brave officers to do their job, follow their hunches and not trusting their intituion, this would limit their effectiveness. The truth is 99 out of 100 times when a car full of white kids with grateful dead and Hofstra stickers rolls through East Harlem at 3 AM on a Saturday night blasting Jimi Hendrix and wearing Lacrosse hats backwards and we ask our police NOT to notice. We are just being overly sensitive, and overly silly. Let the cops do their jobs. Sometimes racial profiling can be a useful tool, and like anything else, there will be abuses.