The U.S. Department of Justice presents the full text of an article entitled "A Resource Guide on Racial Profiling Data Collection Systems: Promising Practices and Lessons Learned," by Deborah Ramirez, Jack McDevitt, and Amy Farrell. The article discusses the problems related to racial profiling, data collection goals and limitations, and recommendations for traffic stop data collection systems.
The report was funded by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services under the grant #2001-CKWXK046 in 2004. The points of view expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Department of Justice, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services or the Police Executive Research Forum or its members.
The text 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.
Many racial and ethnic groups in the United States, including blacks, Hispanics, Asians, American Indians, and others, have historically faced severe discriminationâ€"pervasive and open denial of civil, social, political, educational, and economic opportunities. Today, large differences among racial and ethnic groups continue to exist in employment, income and wealth, housing, education, criminal justice, health, and other areas. While many factors may contribute to such differences, their size and extent suggest that various forms of discriminatory treatment persist in U.S. society and serve to undercut the achievement of equal opportunity. Measuring Racial Discrimination considers the definition of race and racial discrimination, reviews the existing techniques used to measure racial discrimination, and identifies new tools and areas for future research. The book conducts a thorough evaluation of current methodologies for a wide range of circumstances in which racial discrimination may occur, and makes recommendations on how to better assess the presence and effects of discrimination.
In recent years, racial profiling has drawn the attention of state and federal governments. In this book, racial profiling is defined as the practice of targeting individuals for police or security interdiction, detention, or other disparate treatment based primarily on their race, ethnicity, or national origin in the belief that certain minority groups are more likely to engage in unlawful behaviour. Assertions that law enforcement personnel at all levels unfairly target certain racial and ethnic groups, particularly but not exclusively for traffic stops and searches, have raised concerns about violations of the Constitution. The major debate on racial profiling centres on whether the practice should be prohibited entirely and whether data on traffic stops and searches should be collected to determine if the practice is occurring. This book gathers presents the major issues, available data, and analyses important to understanding on the most dangerous and divisive practices of our time.
Argues that racial profiling by police officers, highway troopers, and customs officials is morally reprehensible and does not help catch criminals, but rather contributes to the moral decay of American society.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Immigration, Citizenship, Refugees, Border Security, and International Law
Constitutional Law for Criminal Justice, Sixteenth Edition, offers criminal justice professionals the training they need to recognize the constitutional principles that apply to their daily work. Jacqueline R. Kanovitz, Jefferson L. Ingram, and Christopher J. Devine provide a comprehensive, well-organized, and up-to-date analysis of constitutional issues that affect the U.S. justice system. Chapter 1 of Part I summarizes the organization and content of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Fourteenth Amendment. The next eight chapters cover the constitutional principles that regulate investigatory detentions, traffic stops, arrests, use of force, search and seizure, technologically assisted surveillance, the Wiretap Act, interrogations and confessions, self-incrimination, witness identification procedures, the right to counsel, procedural safeguards during criminal trials, First Amendment issues relevant to law enforcement, and capital punishment. The final chapter covers the constitutional rights of criminal justice professionals in the workplace, their protection under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and their accountability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for violating the constitutional rights of others. Part II contains abstracts of key judicial decisions exemplifying how the doctrines covered in earlier chapters are being applied by the courts. The combination of text and cases creates flexibility in structuring class time. This book makes complex concepts accessible to students in all levels of criminal justice education. The chapters begin with an outline and end with a summary. Key Terms and Concepts are defined in the Glossary. Tables, figures, and charts are used to synthesize and simplify information. The result is an incomparably clear, student-friendly textbook that has remained a leader in criminal justice education for more than 50 years. The accompanying Instructor and Student Resources website provides free digital materials designed to test student knowledge and save time when preparing lessons. Resources include: Student access to practical quizzes including multiple-choice and true-or-false questions, and case studies with interactive questions and answers to test and apply knowledge A downloadable comprehensive study guide, glossary, and appendix including the text of the United States Constitution to enhance understanding of each chapter alongside study Step-by-step Instructor Guides and premade lesson slides that correspond to the chapters in an editable format to saving valuable time on lesson preparation Instructor access to test-bank questions for further exam practice
