Term paper on Racial Profiling A Case Study

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Introduction

Racial-profiling, the practice of targeting individuals for police investigation based on their race alone in the last few years has been an increasingly prominent issue in American society (Abramosky). Numerous magazines, newspapers, and journals have explored the issue of race-motivated police actions. Recently, the ABA Journal did a study of New Jersey traffic stops from 1988 to 1991, concluding that black drivers were more likely to be pulled over and arrested than whites (Ghannam). The study also delves into the legal ramifications of the 1996 United States Supreme Court ruling in the Whren v. United States case which held that a police officer s subjective motivation for stopping a motorist on the highway was irrelevant as long as an objectively reasonable bas - such as a traffic violation existed for making the stop (Abramosky). The Whren court decision validated the pretext stop which occurs when police officers ostensibly stop motorists for traffic violations but are in fact motivated by the desire to obtain evidence of other crimes (Abramosky). Police officers, however, argue that racial profiling is common sense and is a sensible, statistically based tool that enables them to focus their energies efficiently for the purpose of providing protection against crime to law a-biding folk (Kennedy).

In Taylor and Whitney s study investigating the existence of an empirical basis for racial profiling and crime, they concluded that society must acknowledge the statistics behind crime rates in order to understand the concept of racial profiling; such information is available in governmental annual crime reports. Statistics are facts and numbers which cannot be disputed and provide the empirical basis for racial profiling. The FBI Bulletin also addressed the necessity to consider statistics in addressing the issue of racial profiling. However, unlike Taylor and Whitney who argue for the use of statistics to support racial profiling, the FBI Bulletin promotes the usage of statistics in order to reduce and hopefully eliminate racial profiling. The FBI Bulletin states that if agencies were mandated to keep consistent statistical reports on the attributes and nature of their traffic stops, then racial profiling will not be as rampant. A written record of all traffic stops would do so by attributing individual responsibility to the police officers involved in such violations.

The issue of profiling, not only racial profiling, is one that affects both the local and national levels. The focus of my research paper is the issue of profiling and college students. I intend to research the different perspectives that college students are taking toward the idea of race-motivated police traffic stops. I am investigating the frequency of traffic stops among college students and whether or not race is a factor in such traffic stops. My research will also take into consideration many other factors that students may contributed to traffic stops (i.e. gender, age, vehicle, location, attire). I will focus on a specific age group in targeting college students and I will even further narrow my focus by targeting college students who live Orange County.

Though the majority of literature that has been published on this topic focuses mainly on young minority males and the issue of race, I decided to broaden my research to include female subjects of the same age bracket as well as a consideration of many other factors, aside from race (such as age, gender, type of vehicle, location, and attire). Upon compiling my survey, I administered it to 10 different college students of varying ethnic backgrounds. I also dispersed it evenly between 5 male students and 5 female students. The survey asks for a general overview of the individual s history of traffic violations and his/her encounters with the police during such traffic encounters. The survey also inquires regarding the length of time that the individual has been driving, how many times the individual has been pulled over during that timeframe, the city that the individual drives most frequently in, the type of vehicle the individual drives (or was driving) when pulled over, the person s attire, and the individual s perception of his/her experience(s). A copy of the survey is attached hereto.

In reviewing the survey results, the males, on average, have been pulled over slightly more frequently than females. The five males who were surveyed listed their nationalities as following: Turkish, Colombian, White, Black, and Filipino. Two respondents indicated that they had been stopped 1-3 times whereas one respondent indicated that he had been stopped 4-6 times and the last two respondents indicated that they had been stopped 7-9 times. The average number of years that the male respondents have been driving is 3.7 years. Of the five surveyed, when asked why he believed that the reason he was initially stopped, the answers varied from location, age, gender, nationality, and vehicle. Two of the five respondents related his traffic stop to race.

Of the females surveyed, they listed their nationalities as following: European (white), Thai, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Mexican. On average, the females have been pulled over less frequently than the males. One female respondent had been stopped 7-9 times whereas two respondents have been stopped 1-3 times and the last two respondents have never been stopped. The average number of years that the female respondents have been driving is 4.7 years. In terms of the reasons the females gave for being stopped, the answers varied between gender, location, and age. None of the five females related her traffic violation to her race. Also, the Vietnamese female indicated that the reason why she believed that she has never been stopped is because of her gender.

Though my findings indicate that race may be a factor in traffic stops , I found that gender actually appears to be the more prevalent attribute. The gender issue is one that has been acknowledged in past research, but has often been disregarded. In terms of my research, the respondents were all varied in their ethnic backgrounds, reside and drive most frequently in Orange County, and gave varying answers regarding the reasons for their traffic stops. However, even though the female respondents, on average, have been driving for a...