Policy Recommendations for Law Enforcement Agencies in Texas
Racial profiling is commonly defined as the act of discriminating against a person based on race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. The practice of racial profiling is a serious issue, especially when police officers are accused of this type of discrimination. Accusations of racial profiling can tarnish the reputation of an officer, their department, and can create a negative image towards the community they protect. With such disastrous consequences at stake, something must be done to fight this issue within the Texas police departments. Could possible adjustments be made to our current policies and legislature? More importantly, how can we ensure that all of our citizens, …show more content…
In a testimony presented to the Texas Department of Public Safety, Baumgartner and his associates studied the rate in which African Americans were stopped or searched by police compared to their White counterparts. The data highlighted the ratio of stops between African Americans and Whites. According to the study, only one report from the multiple police agencies showed a lower rate of searches for Black drivers compared to Whites (Baumgartner, Christiani, & Roach 2016, p. 2). Baumgartner and his associates also state, “Annual reports from the Texas Department of Public Safety show search rate ratios between the values of 1.51 (in 2003) to 1.97(in 2011)” (Baumgartner, Christiani, & Roach 2016, p. 2). While the data does not necessarily mean racial profiling is taking place, it does show that African Americans are disproportionately stopped at a higher rate compared to their white counterparts. Studying the issue from a psychological perspective can possibly provide us with new ways to fight racial …show more content…
Attribution theory, for example, can help in rationalizing the thought process of minorities when they feel they have been discriminated. The way minorities rationalize an officers actions during traffic stops, for example, can determine if a minority perceives themselves to be racially profiled. According to Tyler (2007), “The way the police exercise their authority when they stop people- both in terms of quality of their decision making and the quality of their treatment of people- shapes the attributions those people make about whether they are being racially profiled” (p. 65). In other words, even if an individual is not racially profiled by an officer, the officers’ actions can make a minority come to the conclusion that they are being discriminated against. Tyler (2007) also states, “Poor quality of treatment leads to profiling attributions, resistance to the police, and less willingness to cooperate with them” (p. 67). If a police officer stops a minority for speeding but is rude, unfair, and disrespectful, the minority will believe the officer stopped him because of their skin color and not speeding. Furthermore, if minorities are less willing to cooperate with police officers, it can create feeling of mistrust for both police and