Moeckli Daniel
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239801
- eISBN:
- 9780191716829
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239801.003.0007
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration, Public International Law
This chapter demonstrates that the law enforcement agencies of all states examined are increasingly relying on so-called ‘terrorist profiles’ to select the targets of their vast array of preventive ...
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This chapter demonstrates that the law enforcement agencies of all states examined are increasingly relying on so-called ‘terrorist profiles’ to select the targets of their vast array of preventive anti-terrorism powers. It argues that profiling practices that are based on stereotypical assumptions that people of a certain ‘racial’, ethnic, or religious appearance, or a certain national origin, pose a greater terrorist risk than others are not a suitable means to identify potential terrorists. Such profiles are both over- and under-inclusive and may shift the attention of law enforcement officers away from what should be their main focus, namely behaviour. Furthermore, by singling out persons for enhanced law enforcement attention simply because they match certain group characteristics, terrorist profiling practices contribute to the stigmatisation and alienation of the targeted groups, which, in turn, may have significant negative implications in terms of their willingness to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.Less
This chapter demonstrates that the law enforcement agencies of all states examined are increasingly relying on so-called ‘terrorist profiles’ to select the targets of their vast array of preventive anti-terrorism powers. It argues that profiling practices that are based on stereotypical assumptions that people of a certain ‘racial’, ethnic, or religious appearance, or a certain national origin, pose a greater terrorist risk than others are not a suitable means to identify potential terrorists. Such profiles are both over- and under-inclusive and may shift the attention of law enforcement officers away from what should be their main focus, namely behaviour. Furthermore, by singling out persons for enhanced law enforcement attention simply because they match certain group characteristics, terrorist profiling practices contribute to the stigmatisation and alienation of the targeted groups, which, in turn, may have significant negative implications in terms of their willingness to cooperate with law enforcement authorities.
Meaghan Paulhamus, Robert J. Kane, and Alex R. Piquero
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814776155
- eISBN:
- 9780814777480
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814776155.003.0010
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter reviews substantive issues related to racially biased policing, and discusses how those issues complicate the definition and measurement of the phenomena. In particular, it points to the ...
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This chapter reviews substantive issues related to racially biased policing, and discusses how those issues complicate the definition and measurement of the phenomena. In particular, it points to the notion of the “symbolic assailant” and drug courier profiles associated with the “war on drugs” as early predecessors of the racial profiling problem. It also notes that rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court—particularly in Terry v. Ohio and Whren v. United States—provided the legislative foundations of police profiling. The chapter ends by suggesting the scrapping of the term “racial profiling” in favor of the term “differential stops,” as the latter allows researchers to begin from a neutral and objective position.Less
This chapter reviews substantive issues related to racially biased policing, and discusses how those issues complicate the definition and measurement of the phenomena. In particular, it points to the notion of the “symbolic assailant” and drug courier profiles associated with the “war on drugs” as early predecessors of the racial profiling problem. It also notes that rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court—particularly in Terry v. Ohio and Whren v. United States—provided the legislative foundations of police profiling. The chapter ends by suggesting the scrapping of the term “racial profiling” in favor of the term “differential stops,” as the latter allows researchers to begin from a neutral and objective position.
Kasper Lippert-Rasmussen
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- January 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780199796113
- eISBN:
- 9780199350995
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199796113.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Chapter 11 considers the controversial issue of racial profiling. Suppose that being a member of a certain racial group is a useful proxy for, say, an above-average probability that one engages in ...
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Chapter 11 considers the controversial issue of racial profiling. Suppose that being a member of a certain racial group is a useful proxy for, say, an above-average probability that one engages in drug smuggling on transatlantic flights. Is it permissible for customs officers to discriminate against members of this racial group, i.e. by being more inclined to stop and search travellers with this particular racial identity? Obviously, most find racial profiling morally objectionable and perhaps even noninstrumentally wrong. The chapter argues that racial profiling is a form of statistical discrimination; that, like other forms of statistical discrimination, racial discrimination is not moral wrong per se; but that it is often wrong, and for interesting reasons.Less
Chapter 11 considers the controversial issue of racial profiling. Suppose that being a member of a certain racial group is a useful proxy for, say, an above-average probability that one engages in drug smuggling on transatlantic flights. Is it permissible for customs officers to discriminate against members of this racial group, i.e. by being more inclined to stop and search travellers with this particular racial identity? Obviously, most find racial profiling morally objectionable and perhaps even noninstrumentally wrong. The chapter argues that racial profiling is a form of statistical discrimination; that, like other forms of statistical discrimination, racial discrimination is not moral wrong per se; but that it is often wrong, and for interesting reasons.
Benjamin Eidelson
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- December 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780198732877
- eISBN:
- 9780191796890
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198732877.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
The disrespect-based theory developed earlier in the book aspires to explain what is characteristically and intrinsically wrong about core cases of wrongful discrimination. This chapter considers at ...
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The disrespect-based theory developed earlier in the book aspires to explain what is characteristically and intrinsically wrong about core cases of wrongful discrimination. This chapter considers at length one example of the kind of discrimination that is not necessarily ruled out by the moral demands of respect for persons: racial profiling in law enforcement. The chapter argues that this practice, and others like it, may be troubling on grounds that are fundamentally contingent and hence very different in character. What makes racial profiling morally wrong may not be that it is distinctly unfair, or that it is necessarily racist, but rather that it contributes to a set of conventional social understandings that do unjustified harm. The chapter develops this argument by clarifying the general conceptual distinction between “profiling” and the use of “suspect descriptions,” and proceeds to consider the merits of several different arguments often advanced against profiling.Less
The disrespect-based theory developed earlier in the book aspires to explain what is characteristically and intrinsically wrong about core cases of wrongful discrimination. This chapter considers at length one example of the kind of discrimination that is not necessarily ruled out by the moral demands of respect for persons: racial profiling in law enforcement. The chapter argues that this practice, and others like it, may be troubling on grounds that are fundamentally contingent and hence very different in character. What makes racial profiling morally wrong may not be that it is distinctly unfair, or that it is necessarily racist, but rather that it contributes to a set of conventional social understandings that do unjustified harm. The chapter develops this argument by clarifying the general conceptual distinction between “profiling” and the use of “suspect descriptions,” and proceeds to consider the merits of several different arguments often advanced against profiling.
Delores Jones-Brown and Brian A. Maule
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814776155
- eISBN:
- 9780814777480
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814776155.003.0006
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter provides an overview of the fundamental constitutional rights that inform the study of race, ethnicity, and policing; the socio-legal background in which these rights are embedded; and ...
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This chapter provides an overview of the fundamental constitutional rights that inform the study of race, ethnicity, and policing; the socio-legal background in which these rights are embedded; and the conditions under which judicial and legislative bodies take to protect them. It contends that the U.S. Supreme Court has been ineffectual in establishing a clear standard on the impermissible role of race as the sole determinant of reasonable suspicion. When coupled with decisions that have expanded the scope of police discretion, these failures make racially biased policing legally invisible in the absence of direct admissions or overt racial epithets by police during traffic or pedestrian stops. The chapter outlines cases that expand police discretionary authority in ways that enhance the likelihood of racially biased policing. It concludes with a discussion of successful settlements of racial profiling lawsuits and an account of legislation that covers data collection on racial and ethnic profiling.Less
This chapter provides an overview of the fundamental constitutional rights that inform the study of race, ethnicity, and policing; the socio-legal background in which these rights are embedded; and the conditions under which judicial and legislative bodies take to protect them. It contends that the U.S. Supreme Court has been ineffectual in establishing a clear standard on the impermissible role of race as the sole determinant of reasonable suspicion. When coupled with decisions that have expanded the scope of police discretion, these failures make racially biased policing legally invisible in the absence of direct admissions or overt racial epithets by police during traffic or pedestrian stops. The chapter outlines cases that expand police discretionary authority in ways that enhance the likelihood of racially biased policing. It concludes with a discussion of successful settlements of racial profiling lawsuits and an account of legislation that covers data collection on racial and ethnic profiling.
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226316130
- eISBN:
- 9780226315997
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226315997.003.0005
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
One of the strongest arguments for the use of actuarial methods is the economic argument based on deterrence and efficiency: assuming that people respond rationally to the costs and incentives of ...
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One of the strongest arguments for the use of actuarial methods is the economic argument based on deterrence and efficiency: assuming that people respond rationally to the costs and incentives of policing, using predictions based on group offending rates will result in greater detection of crime. By maximizing the detection of crime, law enforcement will deter the higher-offending targeted population. This is the most efficient allocation of law enforcement resources. A number of able economists are developing models of criminal profiling and demonstrating that using actuarial methods may be an efficient way to engage in law enforcement—in fact, that profiling based on group offending rates may be the most efficient way to allocate police resources. This chapter analyzes the mathematics of profiling, with special attention to the assumption of equal elasticity at the heart of the economic models of racial profiling.Less
One of the strongest arguments for the use of actuarial methods is the economic argument based on deterrence and efficiency: assuming that people respond rationally to the costs and incentives of policing, using predictions based on group offending rates will result in greater detection of crime. By maximizing the detection of crime, law enforcement will deter the higher-offending targeted population. This is the most efficient allocation of law enforcement resources. A number of able economists are developing models of criminal profiling and demonstrating that using actuarial methods may be an efficient way to engage in law enforcement—in fact, that profiling based on group offending rates may be the most efficient way to allocate police resources. This chapter analyzes the mathematics of profiling, with special attention to the assumption of equal elasticity at the heart of the economic models of racial profiling.
Jack Glaser
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195370409
- eISBN:
- 9780190221058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370409.003.0005
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
The efficiency and effectiveness rationales for racial profiling are addressed, in terms of both criminal incapacitation and deterrence. Estimating the effectiveness of racial profiling is nearly ...
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The efficiency and effectiveness rationales for racial profiling are addressed, in terms of both criminal incapacitation and deterrence. Estimating the effectiveness of racial profiling is nearly impossible because the offending benchmarks for the commonly profiled crimes (drug possession, terrorism) and the rates at which police are profiling are generally unknown. Consequently, a mathematical simulation approach is employed. In all simulations, racial profiling causes the targeted group (e.g., Blacks) to be incarcerated at a rate that is disproportionate to its relative offending rate. Profiling also leads to greater proportions of innocent minorities getting subjected to policing. With regard to deterrence, racial profiling presents a special case because enforcement is not secularly increased but redirected. Reverse deterrence theory holds that profiling leads to an increase in crime as targeted minorities commit less, and neglected majorities commit more. Collateral effects of racial profiling include loss of real and human capital, alienation, and democratic disenfranchisement.Less
The efficiency and effectiveness rationales for racial profiling are addressed, in terms of both criminal incapacitation and deterrence. Estimating the effectiveness of racial profiling is nearly impossible because the offending benchmarks for the commonly profiled crimes (drug possession, terrorism) and the rates at which police are profiling are generally unknown. Consequently, a mathematical simulation approach is employed. In all simulations, racial profiling causes the targeted group (e.g., Blacks) to be incarcerated at a rate that is disproportionate to its relative offending rate. Profiling also leads to greater proportions of innocent minorities getting subjected to policing. With regard to deterrence, racial profiling presents a special case because enforcement is not secularly increased but redirected. Reverse deterrence theory holds that profiling leads to an increase in crime as targeted minorities commit less, and neglected majorities commit more. Collateral effects of racial profiling include loss of real and human capital, alienation, and democratic disenfranchisement.
Ashwani Deshpande
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198072034
- eISBN:
- 9780199081028
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198072034.003.0005
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter discusses how economists define discrimination and how it can be measured in the labour market. The primary method is called the ‘decomposition method’, which focuses on the gap in ...
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This chapter discusses how economists define discrimination and how it can be measured in the labour market. The primary method is called the ‘decomposition method’, which focuses on the gap in average wages/earnings between social groups. Through an econometric technique, the researcher decomposes the wage gap between groups in order to determine how much of the gap is explained by differential group characteristics or endowments and how much is due to discrimination. The chapter also discusses the critiques of this method and examines additional new techniques, such as correspondence and audit studies, which are being used to gauge the extent of discriminatory attitudes and their manifestations during economic interactions.Less
This chapter discusses how economists define discrimination and how it can be measured in the labour market. The primary method is called the ‘decomposition method’, which focuses on the gap in average wages/earnings between social groups. Through an econometric technique, the researcher decomposes the wage gap between groups in order to determine how much of the gap is explained by differential group characteristics or endowments and how much is due to discrimination. The chapter also discusses the critiques of this method and examines additional new techniques, such as correspondence and audit studies, which are being used to gauge the extent of discriminatory attitudes and their manifestations during economic interactions.
Sora Y. Han
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780804789110
- eISBN:
- 9780804795012
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804789110.003.0003
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter examines the problem of legal interpretation in constitutional protections of privacy, including the Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection and due process, and the Fourth ...
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This chapter examines the problem of legal interpretation in constitutional protections of privacy, including the Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection and due process, and the Fourth Amendment right requiring probable cause during police searches and seizures of persons and property. It argues that legal interpretations of these privacy rights and the policing such rights delimit both rely on the fantasmatic pursuit of an escaping image, the racial profile, to enforce the universal democratic value of personal sovereignty. The fantasy of colorblindness appears in this doctrinal context as a constitutional gaze that both creates and obscures the racial profile in the imaginative domain of producing legal meaning.Less
This chapter examines the problem of legal interpretation in constitutional protections of privacy, including the Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection and due process, and the Fourth Amendment right requiring probable cause during police searches and seizures of persons and property. It argues that legal interpretations of these privacy rights and the policing such rights delimit both rely on the fantasmatic pursuit of an escaping image, the racial profile, to enforce the universal democratic value of personal sovereignty. The fantasy of colorblindness appears in this doctrinal context as a constitutional gaze that both creates and obscures the racial profile in the imaginative domain of producing legal meaning.
Jack Glaser
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195370409
- eISBN:
- 9780190221058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370409.003.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Racial profiling is defined as the use of race or ethnicity, or proxies thereof, by law enforcement officials as a basis for judgments of criminal suspicion and is discussed as a contributing factor ...
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Racial profiling is defined as the use of race or ethnicity, or proxies thereof, by law enforcement officials as a basis for judgments of criminal suspicion and is discussed as a contributing factor to the very high rates of incarceration in the United States in recent decades, particularly due to drug crime arrests. This is accomplished primarily by looking at Bureau of Justice Statistics and U.S. Census data. The data illustrate that, while the overall incarceration rate grew dramatically from the 1970s to the present, the increase has been driven disproportionately by incarcerations of African Americans. Multiple causes are considered for the racial disparities in criminal justice, but crime and survey data indicate that stops, arrests, and convictions of Blacks are disproportionate to their rates of offending. This is borne out by correlational and experimental research that demonstrates racial bias in criminal justice decision-making.Less
Racial profiling is defined as the use of race or ethnicity, or proxies thereof, by law enforcement officials as a basis for judgments of criminal suspicion and is discussed as a contributing factor to the very high rates of incarceration in the United States in recent decades, particularly due to drug crime arrests. This is accomplished primarily by looking at Bureau of Justice Statistics and U.S. Census data. The data illustrate that, while the overall incarceration rate grew dramatically from the 1970s to the present, the increase has been driven disproportionately by incarcerations of African Americans. Multiple causes are considered for the racial disparities in criminal justice, but crime and survey data indicate that stops, arrests, and convictions of Blacks are disproportionate to their rates of offending. This is borne out by correlational and experimental research that demonstrates racial bias in criminal justice decision-making.
Jack Glaser
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195370409
- eISBN:
- 9780190221058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370409.003.0006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
A review of the history of terrorism and counterterrorism in the United States is provided, with an emphasis on profiling. Differences and similarities between drug war and counterterrorism profiling ...
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A review of the history of terrorism and counterterrorism in the United States is provided, with an emphasis on profiling. Differences and similarities between drug war and counterterrorism profiling are discussed. Evidence of racial profiling in counterterrorism includes disparate registration and investigation activities for people in the United States of Middle Eastern and South Asian origins. The Justice Department’s exception for national security in its otherwise blanket ban on racial profiling in federal law enforcement has the ironic effect of institutionalizing the practice. Discussion is provided of the precedent for domestic terrorism to be perpetrated by White Christians, and one analysis strongly suggests that profiling allows more plots for these types of groups to become operational instead of just aspirational. Law enforcement experts agree that profiling in counterterrorism (as in other domains) may be counterproductive because it alienates people whose cooperation is helpful to investigations.Less
A review of the history of terrorism and counterterrorism in the United States is provided, with an emphasis on profiling. Differences and similarities between drug war and counterterrorism profiling are discussed. Evidence of racial profiling in counterterrorism includes disparate registration and investigation activities for people in the United States of Middle Eastern and South Asian origins. The Justice Department’s exception for national security in its otherwise blanket ban on racial profiling in federal law enforcement has the ironic effect of institutionalizing the practice. Discussion is provided of the precedent for domestic terrorism to be perpetrated by White Christians, and one analysis strongly suggests that profiling allows more plots for these types of groups to become operational instead of just aspirational. Law enforcement experts agree that profiling in counterterrorism (as in other domains) may be counterproductive because it alienates people whose cooperation is helpful to investigations.
Jack Glaser
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195370409
- eISBN:
- 9780190221058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370409.003.0007
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
The American policy landscape vis-à-vis racial profiling is multifaceted and complex, but a pervasive theme is that there is little effective policy that prevents police from racially profiling. ...
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The American policy landscape vis-à-vis racial profiling is multifaceted and complex, but a pervasive theme is that there is little effective policy that prevents police from racially profiling. Explicit bans cannot prevent discriminatory judgments of suspicion that are based on implicit race-crime stereotypes, and because racial discrimination is so taboo in contemporary America, there is a de facto ban in most places. The judiciary has been very permissive of profiling in pedestrian and vehicle stops and searches, requiring only that a legal, articulable pretext be provided. The federal ban on profiling exempts counterterrorism. State laws typically require data collection (although often not analysis or follow-up) but include no remedial measures. Most of the policy traction appears to be occurring at the agency level, with police executives taking initiative to train officers in nondiscrimination, although there is little evidence to date that the types of trainings employed are effective.Less
The American policy landscape vis-à-vis racial profiling is multifaceted and complex, but a pervasive theme is that there is little effective policy that prevents police from racially profiling. Explicit bans cannot prevent discriminatory judgments of suspicion that are based on implicit race-crime stereotypes, and because racial discrimination is so taboo in contemporary America, there is a de facto ban in most places. The judiciary has been very permissive of profiling in pedestrian and vehicle stops and searches, requiring only that a legal, articulable pretext be provided. The federal ban on profiling exempts counterterrorism. State laws typically require data collection (although often not analysis or follow-up) but include no remedial measures. Most of the policy traction appears to be occurring at the agency level, with police executives taking initiative to train officers in nondiscrimination, although there is little evidence to date that the types of trainings employed are effective.
Jack Glaser
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195370409
- eISBN:
- 9780190221058
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370409.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This book provides a clear understanding of how stereotypes, even those operating outside of conscious awareness or control, can cause police to make discriminatory judgments and decisions about whom ...
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This book provides a clear understanding of how stereotypes, even those operating outside of conscious awareness or control, can cause police to make discriminatory judgments and decisions about whom to suspect, stop, question, search, use force on, and arrest. It argues that stereotyping, even nonconscious stereotyping, is a completely normal human mental process, but that it leads to undesirable discriminatory outcomes. Additionally, he finds evidence that racial profiling can actually increase crime, and he considers the implications for racial profiling in counterterrorism. This book brings to bear the vast scientific literature on intergroup stereotyping to offer the first in-depth and accessible understanding of the primary cause of racial profiling and to explore implications for policy.Less
This book provides a clear understanding of how stereotypes, even those operating outside of conscious awareness or control, can cause police to make discriminatory judgments and decisions about whom to suspect, stop, question, search, use force on, and arrest. It argues that stereotyping, even nonconscious stereotyping, is a completely normal human mental process, but that it leads to undesirable discriminatory outcomes. Additionally, he finds evidence that racial profiling can actually increase crime, and he considers the implications for racial profiling in counterterrorism. This book brings to bear the vast scientific literature on intergroup stereotyping to offer the first in-depth and accessible understanding of the primary cause of racial profiling and to explore implications for policy.
Jack Glaser
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195370409
- eISBN:
- 9780190221058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370409.003.0002
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
Research on racial profiling is reviewed, covering a wide array of methodologies (e.g., anecdotal, historical, survey, correlational analysis, and econometric modeling). The analytic challenges of ...
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Research on racial profiling is reviewed, covering a wide array of methodologies (e.g., anecdotal, historical, survey, correlational analysis, and econometric modeling). The analytic challenges of studying racial profiling are discussed, including the “benchmark problem”—estimating the correct denominator in the equation determining if policing is racially disproportionate. The primary conclusion is that it is overwhelmingly evident that racial bias is operative in policing in many locales, but there are also places and times where it is not evident. Special focus is paid to cases where the data are robust and the evidence is particularly probative, including New York City’s stop and frisk program, consent searches, and customs searches.Less
Research on racial profiling is reviewed, covering a wide array of methodologies (e.g., anecdotal, historical, survey, correlational analysis, and econometric modeling). The analytic challenges of studying racial profiling are discussed, including the “benchmark problem”—estimating the correct denominator in the equation determining if policing is racially disproportionate. The primary conclusion is that it is overwhelmingly evident that racial bias is operative in policing in many locales, but there are also places and times where it is not evident. Special focus is paid to cases where the data are robust and the evidence is particularly probative, including New York City’s stop and frisk program, consent searches, and customs searches.
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- March 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780226316130
- eISBN:
- 9780226315997
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226315997.003.0009
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This chapter begins by examining one instance of actuarial progress—Manhattan Bail Project—that has benefited poor and minority communities. The Manhattan Bail Project was initiated in October 1961 ...
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This chapter begins by examining one instance of actuarial progress—Manhattan Bail Project—that has benefited poor and minority communities. The Manhattan Bail Project was initiated in October 1961 in an effort to create risk-assessment criteria that would allow judges and magistrates to determine quickly whether defendants could be released on their own recognizance pending trial. The project was largely a response to the plight of poor and indigent defendants who could not afford bail. Because of the project's age, its place in today's literature is generally fixed as the starting point of efforts to reform bail in the American criminal justice system. The chapter then presents a general framework for analyzing the use of actuarial methods. The final section turns to racial profiling in the counterterrorism context to illustrate how the framework can resolve an important issue of national security.Less
This chapter begins by examining one instance of actuarial progress—Manhattan Bail Project—that has benefited poor and minority communities. The Manhattan Bail Project was initiated in October 1961 in an effort to create risk-assessment criteria that would allow judges and magistrates to determine quickly whether defendants could be released on their own recognizance pending trial. The project was largely a response to the plight of poor and indigent defendants who could not afford bail. Because of the project's age, its place in today's literature is generally fixed as the starting point of efforts to reform bail in the American criminal justice system. The chapter then presents a general framework for analyzing the use of actuarial methods. The final section turns to racial profiling in the counterterrorism context to illustrate how the framework can resolve an important issue of national security.
Jack Glaser
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- December 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780195370409
- eISBN:
- 9780190221058
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195370409.003.0008
- Subject:
- Psychology, Social Psychology
This chapter offers basic principles for addressing racial profiling through policy, administrative or otherwise. First is promoting among law enforcement officials an understanding of what gives ...
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This chapter offers basic principles for addressing racial profiling through policy, administrative or otherwise. First is promoting among law enforcement officials an understanding of what gives rise to racial profiling (e.g., stereotyping) and what its effects are (discrimination and potentially reverse deterrence). Next, it is important for law enforcers and policymakers to recognize that implicit stereotyping is not “racism” but an aspect of normal cognition, however undesirable and harmful. Methods for measuring bias in policing are discussed. The role of implicit stereotypes in racial profiling implicates that it will not be sufficient for supervisors to hold officers to a standard of “not intending” to discriminate but to a standard of “intending to not discriminate” and taking steps to meet that goal. Finally, practical strategies for reducing racial profiling are offered, including reducing the types of discretion that promote stereotype-based judgments, reducing officers’ biases through intergroup contact, and promoting monitoring and accountability for biased policing.Less
This chapter offers basic principles for addressing racial profiling through policy, administrative or otherwise. First is promoting among law enforcement officials an understanding of what gives rise to racial profiling (e.g., stereotyping) and what its effects are (discrimination and potentially reverse deterrence). Next, it is important for law enforcers and policymakers to recognize that implicit stereotyping is not “racism” but an aspect of normal cognition, however undesirable and harmful. Methods for measuring bias in policing are discussed. The role of implicit stereotypes in racial profiling implicates that it will not be sufficient for supervisors to hold officers to a standard of “not intending” to discriminate but to a standard of “intending to not discriminate” and taking steps to meet that goal. Finally, practical strategies for reducing racial profiling are offered, including reducing the types of discretion that promote stereotype-based judgments, reducing officers’ biases through intergroup contact, and promoting monitoring and accountability for biased policing.
David A. Harris
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814776155
- eISBN:
- 9780814777480
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814776155.003.0003
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This chapter describes David Hariss's continuation of the census discussed in Chapter 2 by focusing on Ohio traffic stops. Harris further contextualized the findings by incorporating interviews with ...
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This chapter describes David Hariss's continuation of the census discussed in Chapter 2 by focusing on Ohio traffic stops. Harris further contextualized the findings by incorporating interviews with African Americans who were targets of traffic stops. The chapter then situates racial profiling in the broader context of race in the criminal justice system, outlining legal principles that relate to allegations of profiling and the recourse available to those who perceive unfair treatment. It ends by calling for additional local- and state-level enactment of measures similar to the Traffic Stops Statistics Act of 1997 so that complainants can more readily utilize the host of legal rights available to them.Less
This chapter describes David Hariss's continuation of the census discussed in Chapter 2 by focusing on Ohio traffic stops. Harris further contextualized the findings by incorporating interviews with African Americans who were targets of traffic stops. The chapter then situates racial profiling in the broader context of race in the criminal justice system, outlining legal principles that relate to allegations of profiling and the recourse available to those who perceive unfair treatment. It ends by calling for additional local- and state-level enactment of measures similar to the Traffic Stops Statistics Act of 1997 so that complainants can more readily utilize the host of legal rights available to them.
Sora Y. Han
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780804789110
- eISBN:
- 9780804795012
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Stanford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.11126/stanford/9780804789110.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Constitutional and Administrative Law
This book offers original readings of the ideal of colorblindness in canonical cases to the critical study of race and law. It does this by deconstructing and tracing colorblindness as a fantasmatic ...
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This book offers original readings of the ideal of colorblindness in canonical cases to the critical study of race and law. It does this by deconstructing and tracing colorblindness as a fantasmatic core around which law enforces classic principles of American democracy – including, equal protection, citizenship, personal privacy, and freedom of expression. This fantasmatic core, variously materialized in the formal literary structure of universal legal reason, reveals how racial slavery continues to haunt American democracy. This reading of colorblindness critically revises current debates that generally take the contemporary “post-civil rights” moment as an incontrovertible sign of colorblindness’s hegemony. Arguing that colorblindness is more than the law’s failed recognitions of the social reality of racial inequality, or a structure of the law’s formal function as objective arbiter of political struggles, the book moves beyond these constructivist and historicist discussions to explore colorblindness as the symptomatic production of law around the Real of racial slavery and black freedom struggle. Opening up a space to encounter the many instances of the continued arrival of the Real of race in law’s language, this book argues that the black radical tradition’s questions of abolition and freedom continue to be essential for developing a critical knowledge of race and law.Less
This book offers original readings of the ideal of colorblindness in canonical cases to the critical study of race and law. It does this by deconstructing and tracing colorblindness as a fantasmatic core around which law enforces classic principles of American democracy – including, equal protection, citizenship, personal privacy, and freedom of expression. This fantasmatic core, variously materialized in the formal literary structure of universal legal reason, reveals how racial slavery continues to haunt American democracy. This reading of colorblindness critically revises current debates that generally take the contemporary “post-civil rights” moment as an incontrovertible sign of colorblindness’s hegemony. Arguing that colorblindness is more than the law’s failed recognitions of the social reality of racial inequality, or a structure of the law’s formal function as objective arbiter of political struggles, the book moves beyond these constructivist and historicist discussions to explore colorblindness as the symptomatic production of law around the Real of racial slavery and black freedom struggle. Opening up a space to encounter the many instances of the continued arrival of the Real of race in law’s language, this book argues that the black radical tradition’s questions of abolition and freedom continue to be essential for developing a critical knowledge of race and law.
Stephen K. Rice and Michael D. White (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814776155
- eISBN:
- 9780814777480
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814776155.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
From Rodney King and “driving while black” to claims of the targeting of undocumented Latino immigrants, relationships surrounding race, ethnicity, and the police have faced great challenge. This ...
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From Rodney King and “driving while black” to claims of the targeting of undocumented Latino immigrants, relationships surrounding race, ethnicity, and the police have faced great challenge. This book includes both classic pieces and original essays that provide the reader with a comprehensive, even-handed sense of the theoretical underpinnings, methodological challenges, and existing research necessary to understand the problems associated with racial and ethnic profiling and police bias. The book guides readers through the complexity of these issues, making clear the ecological and political contexts that surround them, and laying the groundwork for future discussions. The chapters illustrate that equitable treatment of citizens across racial and ethnic groups by police is one of the most critical components of a successful democracy, and that it is only when agents of social control are viewed as efficient, effective, and legitimate that citizens will comply with the laws that govern their society.Less
From Rodney King and “driving while black” to claims of the targeting of undocumented Latino immigrants, relationships surrounding race, ethnicity, and the police have faced great challenge. This book includes both classic pieces and original essays that provide the reader with a comprehensive, even-handed sense of the theoretical underpinnings, methodological challenges, and existing research necessary to understand the problems associated with racial and ethnic profiling and police bias. The book guides readers through the complexity of these issues, making clear the ecological and political contexts that surround them, and laying the groundwork for future discussions. The chapters illustrate that equitable treatment of citizens across racial and ethnic groups by police is one of the most critical components of a successful democracy, and that it is only when agents of social control are viewed as efficient, effective, and legitimate that citizens will comply with the laws that govern their society.
Bernard E. Harcourt
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814776155
- eISBN:
- 9780814777480
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814776155.003.0022
- Subject:
- Sociology, Law, Crime and Deviance
This concluding chapter argues that the common actuarial tools used by researchers in predicting future dangerousness/violations are counterproductive. Throughout their use of strategies such as ...
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This concluding chapter argues that the common actuarial tools used by researchers in predicting future dangerousness/violations are counterproductive. Throughout their use of strategies such as racial profiling, the researchers themselves produce racial distortion in the prison system. The findings unfortunately diverge from effective crime prevention philosophies, and bias the public's conception of fair and just punishment. The primary means through which racial distortion emanates, the chapter explains, is when a profiled group is less elastic or less responsive to policing. The chapter calls for an embrace of randomization by making justice determinations independent (blind) to predictions of future dangerousness. This orientation simply means that criminal justice should get out of the business of making decisions based on (highly imperfect, and counterproductive) predictions of future dangerousness, and instead (for example) randomly sample from among suspects where there is probable cause.Less
This concluding chapter argues that the common actuarial tools used by researchers in predicting future dangerousness/violations are counterproductive. Throughout their use of strategies such as racial profiling, the researchers themselves produce racial distortion in the prison system. The findings unfortunately diverge from effective crime prevention philosophies, and bias the public's conception of fair and just punishment. The primary means through which racial distortion emanates, the chapter explains, is when a profiled group is less elastic or less responsive to policing. The chapter calls for an embrace of randomization by making justice determinations independent (blind) to predictions of future dangerousness. This orientation simply means that criminal justice should get out of the business of making decisions based on (highly imperfect, and counterproductive) predictions of future dangerousness, and instead (for example) randomly sample from among suspects where there is probable cause.
