The Pros And Cons Of Criminal And Racial Profiling

Law enforcement officials use profiling as part of their daily routine, thus giving them an indication of criminal behaviors, acts, threatening and/or dangerous situations. Although profiling is a part of human nature and has been around for decades, it was not until the 90’s that profiling became a major focus and concern in America, separating the two into: criminal profiling and racial profiling. When comparing and contrasting the two, criminal and racial profiling, it is difficult because both have separate yet equal meanings, but are both described as a form of profile in itself. How do they relate? Before the question or situation can be accessed or addressed it is imperative for the officer to take prior training into consideration, …show more content…
On February 11, 2015 Rhonda K. Robertson, Chief of Police for the Fort Worth Police Department, sent out a letter of correspondence to the city’s Mayor, Betsy Price and members of the City Council. Letter’s subject: 2014 Racial profiling report. In 2001, Texas Legislature passed the Texas Racial Profiling Law, which states, “racial profiling is prohibited” (http://www.aele.org/texprofile.html). On September 1, 2009, revision were made to the law which included, “eliminating the requirement to complete checklists on pedestrians, adding Middle Eastern to the designation for race, and requiring submission of specific statistical data to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) beginning in 2011” (https://www.fortworthpd.com/docmgmt/Full-Final-Report-Racial-Profiling-Fort-Worth-2014.pdf). Chief Robertson understands, “racial profiling continues to be regarded as a prevalent theme among law enforcement agencies in the United States as well as with civil rights organizations within the State of Texas” (https://www.fortworthpd.com/docmgmt/Full-Final-Report-Racial-Profiling-Fort-Worth-2014.pdf) and is committed to the community to ensure reviews are done and all procedures are addressed fairly and