Deliberation on Racial Profiling

Racial profiling is the suspicion of people based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, or other immutable characteristics, rather than on evidence-based suspicious behavior. Racial profiling is often paired with potentially negative action. In the United States today it is most often associated with law enforcement, border patrol, and airport security. Pros: There are two main areas in todays politics where using racial profiling has been the most prevalent and controversial, fighting terrorism and illegal immigration. There are several arguments in favor of using racial profiling to increase the efficiency of security programs in both areas. The first is the argument of limited resources; we only have so many resources to put on security and reducing the pool of suspects can increase the amount of catches by security forces. This argument claims that it is safe to assume that most terrorists will be of muslim ethnicity, this isnt a racist argument that all muslims are terrorists it is simply an argument to say that most terrorists we deal with today come from the middle east. So if airport security can only search 300 people in a day would it be better to search 300 out of the 100,000 that come through the airport or 300 out of the 1,000 Muslims? The same argument can be said for illegal immigration, those in favor of racial profiling would say that most illegal immigrants coming from the south are hispanic, therefore border patrol could limit their suspect pool and increase their success by racial profiling and searching only those of a hispanic ethnicity. This approach can be combined with behavioral profiling, looking for suspects based on suspicious behavior. Many security/law enforcement agencies have turned to racial profiling because more traditional approaches have proven unsuccessful. In Israel, the government has instituted a policy of racial profiling to combat terrorists coming from Palestine. Since, starting the policy Israel has cut the amount of terrorist attacks they see yearly in half. Supporters of racial profiling say that we can place protective on suspects to make sure that even though they are searched they will be treated fairly, rules can also be used to prevent racial stereotypes from turning into violent discrimination. Cons: Opposers of racial profiling have attacked the practice, claiming its illegitimacy through both legal and ethical approaches. The Fourth Amendment to the Constitution prohibits a person from being stopped or detained without evidence that he or she was involved in a crime.

Racial Profiling is a clear violation of a citizens Fourth Amendment right, as a persons race does not constitute evidence of a crime. Many law enforcers get around this by pulling the suspect over for something minor (J-walking, rolling a stop sign) and using that crime to search them for something more serious. In opposition to the argument of limited resources, opponents say that criminals have adapted to avoid other security means and they will surely do the same here. If terrorists were to increase recruiting of non-muslim appearing members who can get around racial profiling the results could be catastrophic. By using racial profiling to catch criminals we are also allowing a large number of criminals who don't fit the profile to elude security. Instead, behavioral profiling is a much more proven means of identifying suspects and is backed up by more research. Israel is a very small country experiencing a conflict with specific neighbors, this makes their situation entirely different. There is also no direct correlation between the reduction in terrorist attacks and their racial profiling system, other security measures were put into place around the same time. Possibly the most powerful argument against racial profiling is that it can easily escalate into more severe actions of discrimination and tolerance, and can spread to the general community. The Government officially using Racial Profiling validates and encourages peoples fear/hatred of one particular ethnic group. It builds up stereotypes in the community, and if not tightly monitored can lead to violence against these minority groups.

Handout 2Deliberation Activities Review the Reading

Determine the most important facts and/or interesting ideas and write them below. 1) ___________________________________________________________________________ 2) ___________________________________________________________________________ 3) ___________________________________________________________________________ Deliberation Question: Is it okay to use racial profiling to catch criminals in the United States? Is this a Violation of their rights? Learning the Reasons: Reasons to Support Racial Profiling Team A Reasons to Oppose Racial Profiling Team B

My Personal Position: On a separate sheet of paper, write down reasons to support your opinion. You may suggest another course of action than the policy proposed in the question or add your own ideas to

address the underlying problem. Handout 3Student Reflection on Deliberation Large Group Discussion: What We Learned What were the most compelling reasons for each side? Side A: Side B:

What were the areas of agreement?

What questions do you still have? Where can you get more information?

What are some reasons why deliberating this issue is important in a democracy?

What might you and/or your class do to address this problem? Individual Reflection: What I Learned Which number best describes your understanding of the focus issue? [circle one] 1 2 3 4 5 NO DEEPER MUCH DEEPER UNDERSTANDING UNDERSTANDING What new insights did you gain?

What did you do well in the deliberation? What do you need to work on to improve your personal deliberation skills?

What did someone else in your group do or say that was particularly helpful? Is there anything the group should work on to improve the group deliberation?