Racial Profiling is a Valuable Policing Tool Essay

Former President Clinton called for a national crackdown on racial profiling and ordered federal law enforcement authorities to begin an investigation. (1) Vice President Al Gore promised the NAACP that should he become president eliminating the practice of racial profiling by the nations police departments would be a top priority. (2) New Jersey Governor Christy Whitman fired Police Superintendent Carl Williams after the 35-year veteran trooper said in an interview that minorities are more likely to be involved in drug trafficking. (3) In the case of State of New Jersey v. Pedro Soto, et. al., the attorney for the black defendants moved to suppress evidence from traffic stops deemed to be discriminatory enforcement of the traffic†¦show more content†¦Prior to making a decision, people never obtain all of the information available or possible to obtain. For example, all prefer low prices to higher prices for a given purchase, but we never canvass all prices. In choosing a mate, we never obtain all the information about our prospective spouse. In these and other decisions, we decide that a given amount of information is enough and we search no more. Consider the following example of how much information is acquired prior to a decision. Suppose upon entering a room one is unexpectedly confronted with the sight of a fully grown tiger. A fairly reliable prediction is that person would endeavor to leave the area in great dispatch or otherwise seek safety. All by itself that prediction is uninteresting. More interesting is the explanation for the behavior. Would the persons decision to run be based upon any detailed information held about that particular or would the decision be based upon the persons information about how he has seen other tigers behave, what his parents have told him about tigers or tiger folklore? Most likely the individuals decision would be based upon the latter. He simply pre-judges or stereotypes the tiger. The fact that it is a tiger is deemed sufficient information for action. If a person did not pre-judge or employ tiger stereotypes, his behavior would be different. He would endeavor to acquire additional information about the tiger before takingShow MoreRelated Racial Profiling is Necessary1040 Words   |  5 Pagesunderstand racial profiling, it must first be correctly defined. 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