Racial Profiling

<b><i>Part One of a Two-Part Series.</i></b> For more than a decade, law enforcement agencies across the country have struggled with allegations of racial profiling. Many of the country's large law enforcement agencies have been sued for alleged racial profiling. These agencies include the California Highway Patrol, the Ohio Highway patrol and the Illinois State Police. The results of these lawsuits have been mixed. Some agencies, such as the Illinois State Police, prevailed, and many other agencies reached settlements. These suits were extremely expensive to litigate, and the settlements were, at times, just as expensive. Regardless of the outcome of the litigation, however, the damage caused by these allegations was massive. The citizens' trust and confidence instilled in these departments, if it existed at all in recent times, was breached. The damage occurred, in large part, because perception is often as important as ' or more important than ' reality. Although the phenomenon of racial profiling undoubtedly exists, all agencies and their personnel become tainted, whether fairly or not, with the stigma resulting from the actions of a few.

18 minute read April 28, 2006 at 09:55 AM

By

Iain D. Johnston