Racial profiling is a longstanding and deeply troubling national problem despite …show more content…
How many community members will step up to be "Good Samaritans" and report crimes or accidents, or offer help to a victim until the police arrive, if the risk of doing the good deed is an interaction with a police officer that may result in a background check or challenge to immigration status? Perversely, the ultimate result of racial profiling in minority communities is precisely the opposite of the goal of effective local law enforcement. It is for this reason that many police executives and police organizations have expressed concern that the enforcement of the immigration laws by local law enforcement authorities has a "negative overall impact on public safety." Because racial profiling diverts precious law enforcement resources and destroys the relationship between local law enforcement authorities and the communities they serve, it is a flawed method of law enforcement in any context.
Additionally, racial profiling is unlikely to be an effective policing strategy as criminals can simply shift their activities outside the profile (e.g., if racial profiling begins with police stopping black males in their teens and twenties for being drug carriers, criminals may start using other demographic groups — such as Hispanics, children or the elderly — to move