An Argument in Favor of Racial Profiling by Police in United States

In today's world, many conflicts about racism and prejudice are prevailing and nearly impossible to stop. Racial profiling is socially defined as the harassment and intimidation of innocent citizens because of their ethnicity. However, hard statistical evidence shows that young minorities are more prone to commit disproportionate numbers of crimes than that of the larger population. Therefore, it goes to show that racial profiling is nothing more than common sense used by police officers and average citizens alike.

In March of 2000, police were acquitted of charges surrounding the murder of Amadou Diallo, an innocent man whose body was riddled with "41 bullets from that of law enforcement officers," says Ellis Cose of Newsweek. The police were searching for a rapist in Diallo's area when they came to his door wanting to ask him questions. It did not go as they had planned, as Diallo was just a man in the wrong place at the wrong time. The case has become a fuel that is feeding the fire of colorblind zealots who demand that racial profiling cease. As with Rodney King, a police mistake has made general law enforcement look bad.

Critics say that racial profiling is evidence of institutionalized racism, but profiling can just as easily be a reasonable strategy based on statistics that show young black and Hipics committing violent crimes in their area. The same people who insist on racial counting of college admissions and employment demand colorblind statistics in police work. The Diallo case illustrates the confusion surrounding racial profiling. There is no doubt he died by police fire, but he was not approached because he was black, he was approached because he fit the description of a man wanted for multiple rapes in the same neighborhood.

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First off, the mixed-race jury in Albany, New York that stood in on the case of the police officers involved in the shooting acquitted them of all charges as stated by Jonathan Foreman of the National Review. Although an innocent man was gunned down, he could have lived had he surrendered to the officers when confronted. Instead, he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet, and, living in such a dangerous part of town, the police had no choice but to open fire. After all, he could have been reaching for a weapon.

Secondly, the funny thing about all of the attention surrounding racial profiling is nobody has said anything about it until lately. The FBI has used profiling for years to identify serial killers. Their descriptions identify them as white males in their thirties who are loners and probably tortured and killed animals as children or teenagers. Nothing was ever said about the use of "white" in the profile. No matter what, all races are capable of committing a crime, and profiling has worked wonders as a valuable tool that is used by the FBI and many other crime-fighting organizations.

In conclusion, the world today is full of hate and prejudice, but we sometimes keep our minds closed because of the tension around us. Racial profiling is a touchy subject indeed, and sometimes, it is inappropriately used to discriminate. While we can all say it is wrong, it has helped all of us in our daily lives. Without it, the FBI could not identify as many serial killers as it does, and police would be searching up and down the streets for killers and rapists who have no race. The Diallo case illustrates the use of descriptions and the importance of them in police work, and although Diallo's last day ended in tragedy for him and his family, we know that the officers were doing their jobs the way they were taught to do them, and they were trying to make their streets a safer place to live. We all have much to learn, so we must open our eyes, and open our minds and accept what is right in front of us.

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