Racial profiling refers to the prejudiced practice by law enforcement officials of targeting people for suspicion of crime “based on that person’s ethnicity, race, national origin or religion ” ( Welch, 2007 ). Stereotyping is the unverified belief that all people of a certain group are the same, normally in a negative manner. Stereotyping of a certain group of people leads to racial profiling. In United States, cultural stereotypes that depict Blacks as criminals affect the way Blacks experience encounters with police officers. Such encounters induce Blacks to feel stereotype threat, and that they are judged and treated unfairly by the police because of these stereotypes ( Welch, 2007).
On February 26, 2012, a teen 17 years old, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a 28 years old policeman. The teen had gone out to get snacks for the family, and on his way back to the gated townhouse community, he met Zimmerman who was a neighborhood watchman and was carrying a loaded gun. There was no evidence that the teenager committed or attempt to commit any crime, but Zimmerman shot him in the chest. Zimmerman was arrested but later released. The police said that he killed Martin in self-defense (Blow , 2012).
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Zimmerman had reported to the police seeing a suspicious stranger and possibly went ahead and confronted him. Martin was black and was unfamiliar to Zimmerman, due to stereotyping, Zimmerman perceived the black teenager as a crime suspect. The law enforcers profiled the teenager also as a suspect because he was black and was possibly intending to commit a crime, and thus through this justified Zimmerman’s shooting of Martin, leading to his release (Blow, 2012).
Hate Crimes
Hate crimes are crimes motivated by race, sex, religion, or other prejudice and typically involving violence. According to the 2009 hate crime statistic by the FBI, there were 3,199 incidences of hate crime motivated by race, 3,816 offenses, 4,057 known victims and 3,241 known offenders. These figures are alarming considering that they are taking place among citizens of the same nation. This form of hate crime represents a serious threat to the physical and psychological well-being of the victims because hate crimes hurt more than general crimes (Stotzer, 2009).
Victims of a race-motivated hate crime may suffer more extreme health and well-being consequences from hate crime victimization. Race motivated hate crime committed against an individual is interpreted as having been committed against the entire race by the other members of that race. This heightens the gap and increases hatred triggering more hate crimes against each other. The higher number of race-motivated hate crimes indicate clear differences existing among people of different races in our society and that most people are not willing to bridge their race differences and coexist (Stotzer, 2009).
To prevent hate crimes first people should act against hate crimes as apathy is interpreted as acceptance by the offenders. They also need to unite and organize rallies from schools, churches, and other civic sources, and create a diverse coalition that includes the police, media, and children. Moreover, there needs to be support for the victims, and communities should report any incidences related to hate crime. Specific legislation and effective law enforcement are also needed to curb hate crimes and promote police cooperation with civil societies, including NGOs ( Maroney, 1998).
References
Blow, C. M. (2012). The curious case of Trayvon Martin. The New York Times , A21.
Maroney, T. A. (1998). The struggle against hate crime: Movement at a crossroads. NYUL Rev. , 73 , 564.
Stotzer, R. L. (2009). Violence against transgender people: A review of United States data. Aggression and Violent Behavior , 14 (3), 170-179.
Welch, K. (2007). Black criminal stereotypes and racial profiling. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice , 23 (3), 276-288.
