Solutions to Racial Profiling
With the recent news about several police-related deaths of civilians, the issue of racial profiling is making headlines again. In the past, the relationship between racial minorities and law enforcement officers has been strained. And with the recent events, this strained relationship continues today and has become even more complicated.
Many minority groups believe that they are unfairly being targeted by police because of their race. For example, reports show that traffic patrol has pulled over a higher percentage of African-American than Caucasian people. A study in racial profiling in the LAPD done in 2008 shows that blacks were frisked 127% more times than whites. It also shows that the arrest rate for …show more content…
Law enforcement officers are trusted by society and are given wide discretion when performing their duties. And if left unchecked, they could use this wide discretion to abuse their position in the name of effectively and efficiently enforcing the law. They could use violent and excessive use of force, falsify evidence, and engage in racial profiling.
The call for reform in law enforcement agencies and putting a stop to racial profiling has become stronger. President Obama's Task Force has created six policy proposals as solutions to racial profiling. In summary, they are:
1. Building trust and legitimacy – The culture in law enforcement should be more of a guardian mindset rather than that of a warrior in order to build trust and legitimacy within agencies and wit the public.
2. Policy and oversight – Police must carry out their responsibilities according to established policies which reflect community values.
3. Technology and social media – The use of these tools can build community trust and legitimacy because the police can engage and educate communities and have dialogues about privacy, accountability, and transparency. But its implementation must be built on a defined policy framework. Its purposes and goals must be clearly
With the recent news about several police-related deaths of civilians, the issue of racial profiling is making headlines again. In the past, the relationship between racial minorities and law enforcement officers has been strained. And with the recent events, this strained relationship continues today and has become even more complicated.
Many minority groups believe that they are unfairly being targeted by police because of their race. For example, reports show that traffic patrol has pulled over a higher percentage of African-American than Caucasian people. A study in racial profiling in the LAPD done in 2008 shows that blacks were frisked 127% more times than whites. It also shows that the arrest rate for …show more content…
Law enforcement officers are trusted by society and are given wide discretion when performing their duties. And if left unchecked, they could use this wide discretion to abuse their position in the name of effectively and efficiently enforcing the law. They could use violent and excessive use of force, falsify evidence, and engage in racial profiling.
The call for reform in law enforcement agencies and putting a stop to racial profiling has become stronger. President Obama's Task Force has created six policy proposals as solutions to racial profiling. In summary, they are:
1. Building trust and legitimacy – The culture in law enforcement should be more of a guardian mindset rather than that of a warrior in order to build trust and legitimacy within agencies and wit the public.
2. Policy and oversight – Police must carry out their responsibilities according to established policies which reflect community values.
3. Technology and social media – The use of these tools can build community trust and legitimacy because the police can engage and educate communities and have dialogues about privacy, accountability, and transparency. But its implementation must be built on a defined policy framework. Its purposes and goals must be clearly