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The Case For and Against Racial/Ethnic Profiling

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What are the the position for or against using profiling? Discuss the justification. Include pros and cons. Develop your recommendations for each and display your position and justify it.

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Solution Summary

The Solution identifies some arguments for and against racial and ethnic profiling for use by law enforcement officers.

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The case for or against discrimination and racial profiling in law enforcement

Racial or ethnic profiling for law enforcement purposes will always be a part the human condition until the world achieves Utopia. Until then, profiling will always exist and be controversial.
The topic is not limited to the United States. Countries such as the United Kingdom are dealing with profiling and have studied it and the results are not very conclusive. (Reid) In the Netherlands there is support for proofing.
Quantitative Analyses
Quantitative studies such as (Press) indicate that even with perfect data, it is difficult to obtain advantage from profiling. While according to (Whitney) "statistical methodology to detect racial profiling support a legal rule that strong statistical associations in well-developed studies should constitute prima facie evidence sufficient to prove discriminatory intent." Perhaps the most compelling opinion this that statistical analysis should not be used as proof for or against proofing until analyzed within the context they are intended for use. (Schott) Existing quantitative/statistical provide conflicting results for profiling purposes.
Arguments For and Against Racial and Ethnic Profiling
The Case For
After the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in New York, there was widespread support for ethnic profiling. There was also a belief that the attack could have been prevented if profiling for middle-east men was used. It is possible this was a Black Swan mindset (an event that may have a low probability but if it occurred, the results would be catastrophic). The result was the formation of the Homeland Security organization that used some level of ethnic profiling. However, due to ...

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