Racial Profiling


WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO to End Racial Profiling



About the End Racial Profiling Act

Racial profiling is an insidious violation of human rights that can affect people in both public and private places - in their homes or at work, or while driving, flying or walking.

Amnesty International USA supports the "End Racial Profiling Act of 2004" (S.2132 and H.R.3847), also known as ERPA. Racial profiling is not only a violation of the basic tenets of the U.S. Constitution and international human rights law and treaties; it has also proven to be an ineffective method of law enforcement. ERPA offers critical protection from police profiling based on race, religion, national origin and ethnicity. Championed by Congressman Conyers in the House and Senator Feingold in the Senate, ERPA will prohibit racial profiling in law enforcement at the federal, state and local level; monitor law enforcement tactics; and provide a mechanism to receive and contend with complaints of racial profiling. Amnesty International urges the United States Senate and House of Representatives to pass the "End Racial Profiling Act of 2004." This bill is critical to protecting fundamental rights guaranteed to citizens and non-citizens under the U.S. Constitution and international human rights laws and treaties.

Background

According to the U.S. Constitution and international treaties and law, every person has the fundamental right to equal protection under the law regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. Racial profiling is an insidious violation of human rights that can affect people in both public and private places in their homes or at work, or while driving, flying or walking. Racial profiling by law enforcement instills fear and distrust among members of targeted communities, making them less likely to cooperate with criminal investigations or to seek police protection when victimized. Multiple studies have shown that when police focus on race, even as one of several predictive factors, they tend to pay less attention to actual criminal behavior. This is a dangerous trend that can inhibit effective law enforcement and ultimately endanger the lives of all persons who depend on law enforcement for protection.

Historically, racial profiling in the United States has been viewed as an issue that primarily affects African-American, Native American and Hispanic/Latino communities. However, since September 11th, 2001, some aspects of law enforcement have led to much more wide spread racial profiling, affecting Arab-American, Muslim-American, and South Asian-American communities, as well as members of other communities perceived to originate from the Middle East. Targeting people for investigation based on arbitrary factors such as their race, religion, ethnicity or national origin is not only an ineffective investigation tactic, it is profoundly unjust.