Racial Profiling Between Police And People Essay

The very first step of the criminal justice system is the interaction between police and people. Police, after the criticism and hate they receive, still disproportionately target minorities. They decide who to stop, who to check, and who to blame for illicit actions. Unfortunately, many times their decisions are based on racial profiling. Innocent minority citizens are apprehended much more than whites. For example, statistical evidence shows that black drivers are likelier to be stopped than white drivers because police assume they are part of other criminal activities. This is often known as the “driving while black” syndrome; black people are subjected to the nuisance of police interrogation while being pulled over. Study shows that of …show more content…
For instance, in a recent study in Connecticut, known as Connecticut Racial Profiling Prohibition Project, “among more than 150,000 speeders, for example, 51 percent of white motorists stopped by police received a ticket, compared with 63 percent of black drivers.” The issue of racial profiling between police and people is a very persistent issue in todays world. Yet, it doesn 't end with traffic stops and fines. Under the Supreme Court ruling of Terry vs. Ohio, “stop and frisk” in New York City became permissible. During the 1990’s did this method begin to aggressively increase. This “entails the practice of temporarily detaining, questioning and patting down pedestrians based on an articulable suspicion that the detainee is involved in criminal activity.” (Charles Ogletree) Nevertheless, “stop and frisk” has been used to target black people. Police put black people and criminal activities hand in hand, subjugating them to frequent pat downs and searches. African American’s make up about 28 percent of New York City population, yet account for about 80 percent of these