Of course, there are situations in which police must take race or ethnicity into account to do their jobs effectively. An obvious example is when skin color is part of a description of specific suspects committing specific crimes. In addition, such descriptions help police narrow the pool of potential suspects and concentrate their enforcement efforts. Let's say that a police department has knowledge that jewelry store salespeople are being robbed. The robberies occur just after the store closes when the sales personnel are leaving work.
Witnesses describe the suspects as male, Hispanic adults.
Police are also told that prior to past robberies, witnesses have observed several Hispanic males seated in a car that matches the description of what is later to be determined as the suspect vehicle. Based on this scenario, a police officer would be justified in investigating a vehicle containing a group of Hispanic males parked adjacent to a jewelry store at closing time. Political opposition to racial profiling is mounting. Vice President Al Gore has promised to ban racial profiling by federal authorities. Progressives should press for an end to profiling on both civic and practical grounds.