Racial Profiling Research Articles

Inductive Reasoning Involving Social Kinds

Abstract Most social policies cannot be defended without making inductive inferences. For example, consider certain arguments for racial profiling and affirmative action, respectively. They begin with statistics about crime or socioeconomic indicators. Next, there is an inductive step in which the statistic is projected from the past to the future. Finally, there is a normative step in which a policy is proposed as a response in the service of some goal—for example, to reduce crime or to correct socioeconomic imbalances. In comparison to the normative step, the inductive step of a policy defense may seem trivial. We argue that this is not so. Satisfying the demands of the inductive step is difficult, and doing so has important but underappreciated implications for the normative step. In this paper, we provide an account of induction in social contexts and explore its implications for policy. Our account helps to explain which normative principles we ought to accept, and as a result it can explain why it is acceptable to make inferences involving race in some contexts (e.g., in defense of affirmative action) but not in others (e.g., in defense of racial profiling).

Beyond Reputation Management: An Auto-Ethnographic Examination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Canadian Policing

Policing organizations play a vital role in increasing diversity and recruiting individuals from diverse backgrounds. However, they face the challenge of reconciling merit-based hiring with the influence of social capital, necessitating a stronger focus on equity policies. This paper delves into this intricate landscape, leveraging both personal experiences and the framework of employment equity laws. It also draws upon insights gleaned from the Sandhu case to advocate for a holistic approach that encompasses cultural and legal changes to combat the issues surrounding “otherness” within policing. Through a comprehensive exploration of these cases, this paper unravels an intricate tapestry of the challenges faced by policing organizations. It provides valuable insights into nurturing diversity, equity, and inclusion within these entities, addressing issues like othering and racial profiling. This paper underscores the vital importance of public security organizations embracing equity, diversity, and inclusion to better fulfill their mission of serving the communities they protect. By adopting these principles, organizations can improve their effectiveness and make substantial contributions to fostering a more equitable society, transcending the confines of mere reputation management.

The Ethnic Profile of the City of Bălți in Different Periods of Development

The authors of this article contribute to the research of the ethnic diversity of the city of Bălți throughout its history and the contribution of the ethnic groups to the socio-economic development of the town. The results of the research confirm the fact that this settlement was and remains inhabited by various ethnic groups, the main group being the native population. Although for a long time a family with Greek roots owned the locality, this did not lead to the formation of a large Greek community here. The most present in the socio-economic life during the 19th century – the first part of the 20th century was the Jewish community, who at that time reached more than 50% of the city’s population, dealing mainly with commerce and providing services. Other ethnicities (Poles, Germans, Russians, Ukrainians, Greeks and Armenians, etc.) were insignificant in terms of population in the city of Bălți during the above-mentioned period. The annexation of Bessarabia in 1940 by the USSR with the subsequent installation of the Soviet regime resulted in the substantial reduction of the number of Jews from the ethnic picture of Bălți and a significant increase in the number of Russians and Ukrainians in this locality during the Soviet period. As a result, after more than 30 years of independence, approximately 41% of the city’s population still declare Russian as their mother tongue.

Colonizers in the neighborhood: a critical discourse analysis of Nextdoor users’ postracial strategies

ABSTRACT Colonizing the neighborhood is more accessible than ever before with digital platforms like Nextdoor. Through a critical discourse analysis of users’ content in West Philadelphia between May 2019 and April 2021, we found that users rarely utilized explicitly racist language or topics. Rather than interpret this as an indication that users do not engage with racializing or colonizing discourses, however, we argue that users relied on three postracial practices [Mukherjee, R., Banet-Weiser, S., & Gray, H. (2019). Racism postrace. Duke University Press] to normalize and obscure their anti-Blackness and settler ideologies in the context of broader sociocultural and political events of racial profiling and crises of care. First, users moved away from ‘objective’ racial categories to nostalgic narratives that shaped ideals of safety and community in exclusive futures. Second, they shied away from problematic but coded language to embed their racializing practices in policy and partisan discussions. Third, despite the changes users made to other discursive strategies, they remained steadfast in their preservation of surveillance and policing discourses. These themes reveal how postracial discourses reflect and produce their larger social world, obfuscating settler logics through slippery and sticky strategies.

Ethnic profiling of organised crime? A tendency of mafia-cation in the Netherlands

This article will explore how the current narratives (and corresponding changes) in Dutch organised crime policing relate to ethnic profiling of minorities in the Netherlands. It will do so by developing a theoretically informed narrative understanding of what we would like to conceptualise as ethnic profiling of organised crime (in the Netherlands), digging deeper into the connection between the role of ethnicity in organised crime studies inasmuch as it relates to the history of the mafia concept and, even further, lingering colonialism in law-and-order approaches. By focusing on (assumed) socio-historical connections between Italy, mafia and organised crime and on the social construction of Italian mafia as organised crime, based on narrative criminology, this article discursively and interpretatively understands the dominant and hidden Dutch narratives on (policing) organised crime. The discovered narratives will be critically discussed in light of the juxtaposition between mafias and ethnic organised crime and post-colonial implications.

WTP6.4 Influence of Annual Record of Competence Progression panel profile on Differential Attainment

Abstract Introduction Differential Attainment (DA) refers to divergent achievements when related to protected traits. Annual Review of Competency Progression (ARCP) panels play a key role which compositions should reflect, yet no guidance exists on panel profile related to protected traits. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of panel profile on DA. Methods Anonymised ARCPs numbering 1090 in a UK Statutory Education Body (SEB) were examined and primary effect measure was ARCP Outcome (ARCPO) with satisfactory ARCPO classified as 1, 2 or 6, and unsatisfactory as 3 or 4. Results Satisfactory ARCPOs numbered 1005 and unsatisfactory 85. Median panel number was 7 (range 1-15, p<0.001). Median female percentage consultant representation was 18.2% (0% (Urology, Plastic & Paediatric Surgery) to 40% (Core Surgery) and median ethnicity (BME) consultant representation 14.3% (0% (Vascular & Neurosurgery) to 80% (Cardiothoracic Surgery). Multivariable analysis revealed: Trainee seniority (OR 0.800, p<0.001), SAC Liaison Member gender (OR 0.720, p=0.013) and Panel gender balance (N ARCP panel females, OR 10.695, p=0.003) to be independently associated with adverse ARCPO. Discussion Important two to five-fold variance in ARCP panels were found related to gender and ethnicity profile respectively with apparent significant impact on DA.

Racial Profiling, Australian Criminology and the Creation of Statistical ‘Facts’: A Response to Shepherd and Spivak

Stephane Shepherd and Benjamin Spivak in their article ‘Estimating the extent and nature of offending by Sudanese-born individuals in Victoria’, published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, suggest that recent patterns of alleged offending among South Sudanese young people “may be more reflective of an increased involvement in crime for a small number of young men, rather than systemic policing bias or the natural consequence of a group’s demographics” (Shepherd & Spivak, 2020, p. 364). In this article, we interrogate the research methodology and findings of Shepherd and Spivak’s (2020) study. We argue that among the crucial flaws of the article is the substantive lack of interrogation of crime statistics on alleged offending and the article’s failure to triangulate this data with the diverse perspectives and voices of South Sudanese people themselves.

REVIEW: Exposing problems Muslim immigrants face in NZ

How To Be A Bad Muslim and Other Essays, by Mohamed Hassan. Auckland: Penguin/Random House, 2022. 208 pages. ISBN 9780143776215.
 This is a collection of 19 short essays by Mohamed Hassan, an award-winning poet and international journalist. He was born in Cairo, but moved to Auckland, New Zealand, at the age of eight. This personal history underlies much of his writing: his fond memories of Egypt and its collectivist society and extended families, versus his adolescence as a migrant with a clearly identifiable Muslim name in individualist New Zealand. After 9/11, suspicions deepened and Muslims were subject to collective guilt and racial profiling, despite that fact that Muslims around the world condemned the attacks.

Reference populations for examining possible racial profiling

Abstract Two recent Massachusetts Supreme Court cases, Commonwealth v. Long (2020) and Commonwealth v. Robinson-Van Rader (2023), have made it easier for defendants to successfully challenge police stops allegedly based on race or another protected class. Such challenges often consist, at least in part, of demonstrating that the racial distribution of those stopped by police differs meaningfully from the racial distribution of an appropriate reference population. We describe a series of cases, culminating in Long and Van Rader, that have clarified the legal standard required to mount a successful racial profiling challenge in Massachusetts as well as the nature of appropriate reference populations. In some of these cases, we served as expert witnesses.

Colon cancer epidemiology, race and socioeconomic status: Comparing trends in counties served by an urban hospital in Newark, NJ with overall NJ-state and nation-wide patterns

PurposeDisparities in colorectal cancer (CRC) trends are linked with socioeconomic status (SES) and race. To better understand the colon cancer trends at our medical center, this study characterizes the racial and socioeconomic profile of the population served by our center to identify modifiable risk factors amenable to interventions. MethodsColon cancer data from our center as well as New Jersey (NJ) and United States (US) were obtained from National Cancer Database. Demographic data on race and SES for NJ counties were obtained from public databases that sourced data from the American Community Survey and the US census. We compared the odds of being diagnosed with early-onset and late-stage colon cancer (III or IV), respectively in NJ and US, across different racial groups. We also quantified the association between Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and age-adjusted CRC mortality in NJ counties, with and without accounting for the racial composition of each county. ResultsIn 2015, our center recorded higher proportions of late-stage and early-onset colon cancer diagnoses compared to all hospitals in NJ and US. Trends for stage and patient age at diagnosis of colon cancer for NJ and the US (2010–2019) showed that Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander individuals had greater odds of being diagnosed with early-onset (age<50) and late-stage colon cancer (Stage III/IV) when compared to White population. NJ counties served by our center showed an overrepresentation of either Black or Hispanic-Latino populations and reported significant disadvantage in SES. For NJ counties, each 25 percentile increase in social vulnerability was associated with 1.04 times the rate of age-adjusted colorectal cancer death (95 % CI: 1.00–1.07). ConclusionPublic data on race and SES of the target population can help identify areas of social disparities at the county-level to guide targeted interventions such as improving healthcare access and screening rates.

Origins of Ethno-Religious Profiling: The Jewish Question and Police Surveillance in the Russian Empire in the 19th Century

Surveillance scholars have begun to pay increasing attention to the fact that the burden of surveillance is distributed through society unevenly, further deepening social inequality. As an alternative to the popular image of the “panopticon” (universal surveillance over everyone), the new concept of a “banopticon” (surveillance over specific “dangerous” groups) has been proposed. The idea is that this “new” type of surveillance, unlike “traditional” surveillance, targets entire “suspicious” categories of the population rather than specific individuals, and is oriented towards the future, not the past. But is this phenomenon all that new? History shows that the roots of this type of surveillance run as deep as the early modern era. This paper uses a thematic study of surveillance over Jews in the Russian Empire as the basis for an analysis of the emergence and development of one historical form for the monitoring of “dangerous” population groups, along with its causes, intellectual basis, and deployment mechanisms. The results obtained challenge the widespread notion that surveillance over specific racial, ethnic, and ethno-religious groups (racial profiling) is tied exclusively to slavery, racism, and colonialism. This study allows for an expansion of the understanding of this concept and an increase in its complexity.

Social disadvantage and trust in German police: Empirical evidence on procedural justice theory and context effects on perceived fairness in urban neighbourhoods

Current public debates about rising violence against police officers, and conversely, criticism of racial profiling by the police force, contradict the high levels of trust in the German police reported by public surveys. This raises the question of why the tension between the police and citizens arises. German Criminology has not yet exploited the potential of procedural justice theory to explain the shifting dynamics of trust. Empirical studies on how evaluations of police fairness and effectiveness influence police legitimacy in Germany have long been overdue. Additionally, there is minimal evidence of whether police fairness is experienced differently in different social contexts. Therefore, this study answers two pertinent research questions: (1) To what extent does trust in German police and police legitimacy depend on procedural fairness? (2) To what extent do residents in socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods have lower levels of trust in police fairness? Consistent with international research on procedural justice theory, the results reveal significant effects of normative predictors of trust in the police, such as perceived fairness and neighbourhood trust. Using advanced multilevel modelling, this study observes the effects of two contextual variables (welfare recipients and official crime rates) on neighbourhood levels of trust in police fairness. The results reveal that the impact of personal assessments of the neighbourhood, personal disadvantages, and experiences with the police exceeds neighbourhood context effects.

The Police Culture in Pakistan; An Ethical Evaluation

This research investigates the intricate and multifaceted aspects of the culture and ethical considerations inside the police force in Pakistan. The operational conduct of the police force is shaped by a variety of historical, cultural, and institutional influences, which contribute to the cultivation of a strong sense of duty, professionalism, and dedication to ensuring public safety. Nevertheless, there are ongoing obstacles that continue to exist, including issues like as corruption, the misuse of authority, a lack of transparency and responsibility, as well as occurrences of excessive force by law enforcement. Furthermore, the presence of problems pertaining to racial profiling, racism, and discrimination underscores the imperative of ensuring equitable treatment for every individual. In order to tackle these challenges, a range of strategies are being employed, including the implementation of training programs, the establishment of accountability systems, the initiation of community engagement projects, and the enactment of policy reforms. The establishment of a long-term dedication and cooperation between the police force, government entities, civil society organizations, and the general public is imperative in order to enhance the culture and ethics within the police force, restore public confidence, and cultivate efficient service and protection for the community.

The disproportionality of ethnic minority teachers in England: trends, patterns, and problems

Abstract Background: England has an ethnically diverse population; reflected in the teacher workforce, and the student body in schools. However, it is not clear that these figures are in proportion to each other. This paper examines the ethnic profile of students and their teachers and considers their geographical distribution. Methods: This paper uses existing aggregated official publicly available datasets to describe the patterns and trends in the proportion of ethnic minority teachers compared to ethnic minority pupils in England 2015-2021. Data comes from the Department for Education (DfE), the University and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and development (OECD/TALIS), and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Results: We found that there are proportionately more White British teachers than in the student intakes to schools. This disproportion (where there are more White British teachers among teachers than there are White British pupils among pupils) is worse for promoted school leaders like deputies and headteachers than it is for classroom teachers. In London, due to the exceptional number of ethnic minority students, the disproportion (or mismatch) is worse in London than anywhere else. Areas with the fewest ethnic minority pupils (and teachers), like the North East, have the most proportionate workforce (in this limited sense). Conclusions: A student lacking any teachers of the same ethnic group might be treated differently at school, and there is some evidence that this might affect their attainment outcomes. The lack of ethnic diversity in some schools and areas, regardless of proportions, may impoverish the diversity of the whole school system. Several possible reasons for these patterns are noted in the paper, but it is clear that ethnic minority applicants to teacher training are less likely to be accepted, and less likely to obtain qualified teacher status or an eventual teaching post.

Understanding vehicle consent search requests through the use of the social conditioning model and illusory correlation

Previous studies show racial or ethnic bias in police decision-making for consent search requests. Yet, few studies apply the social conditioning model and illusory correlation to explain an officer's decision-making for requesting consent to search the driver's vehicle. Furthermore, a potential consideration when using this theory has not considered the possible explanation that the officer may also conduct such a request because the officer views the citizen as “out-of-place”. This study uses Illinois traffic stop data from 2016 to 2018 for municipal agencies with a minority representation of less than one (i.e., less-diverse police department and a greater chance that the officer involved in the stop is White) and includes one measure from the 2016 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative Statistics. Utilizing propensity score matching to match the drivers based on race/ethnicity and gender, the current findings show that non-White drivers and non-White male drivers, who are stopped by police serving predominately White areas and who serve in a less-diverse police department, are more likely to have an officer request consent to search their vehicle. These findings are consistent with racial profiling and support the social conditioning model and illusory correlation as an appropriate theoretical explanation for police officers. Moreover, the officer's decision-making could be based on an individual driver stopped by an officer serving a predominately White community and interacting with a less-diverse police department. The officer may view the minority driver as being “out-of-place”, which is an additional reason for the officer to request consent to search the minority driver's vehicle.

The Colour of Policing in Lethbridge

This text aims to explore how racism operates in police practices with particular attention to Lethbridge. It is designed to provide a historical trajectory for the relationship between policing, racism, and colonialism. It examines the history of modern policing and its nation-state-building capacity and racialized policing in modern Lethbridge. This article deals with the concept of "racial profiling" through the carding practice in Lethbridge.

Trends in the desegregation of former Whites-only state schools in Pretoria (South Africa): a time-space investigation

ABSTRACT The school is a confined interpersonal contact space for students and lends itself to the social integration of mixed-race populations. However, the success of an integration process is, amongst other factors, linked to the racial numerical mix of a desegregating school. The literature on school desegregation in South Africa lacks empirical evidence that would support or contradict popular views on demographic trends in the desegregation process. This article investigates the changing racial profiles of former Whites-only state schools (referred to here as FMC schools) in Pretoria over three decades. The key findings are: (1) the number of Black (=non-White) learners in FMC schools in Pretoria constantly increased and surpassed that of White learners shortly before 2015; (2) the number of Black learners in primary FMC schools constantly increased faster than that in secondary schools, and (3) after a brief period of school desegregation, White and Black learners re-polarized again into White and Black school clusters. These findings suggest that social integration is not the primary motive for registering at FMC schools but that it is driven by access to quality education and further streamed by choices of association.

Impact of Community Policing on Biological Markers of Health Across Development in Black Youth

Policing inequities are harmful sources of systemic racism perpetuated disproportionately against Black Americans. This includes unjust police encounters in Black communities such as racial profiling, stop-and-frisk, hyperpolicing, aggressive policing, police brutality, and police shootings. A knowledge gap exists in how this mistreatment, via direct or intergenerational exposure, impacts physiological systems in Black youth. Using three studies, we tested how exposure to unjust policing biologically “gets under the skin” of Black youth from infancy to emerging adulthood. Study 1 (IDS) examined associations between neighborhood stop-and-frisk rates and telomere length in infants. Study 2 (NSPAC) explored associations between mothers’ experience of unfair treatment by police and developmental and stress related hormone coupling in their children ages 5-15. Study 3 (SDRG) tested whether encounters with police in the 8th grade had a lasting impact on diurnal and waking cortisol six years later during emerging adulthood. Rates of neighborhood stop-and-frisk were associated with shorter telomeres in infants (study 1, IDS). Children whose mothers experienced unfair treatment from police showed, during the TSST, blunted cortisol stress reactivity, slower cortisol recovery, and altered cortisol-testosterone coupling (study 2, NSPAC). Adolescents who experienced police encounters had higher waking cortisol as emerging adults (study 3, SDRG). Policing inequities were linked to biological markers of stress and health across all developmental stages of Black youth. Direct, within child’s neighborhoods and intergenerational unjust policing were associated with stress-responsive biological pathways in Black youth. Findings represent a critical and modifiable target when seeking to address persistent racial inequity.

Commentary on "From the War on Terror to the Moral Crusade Against Female Genital Mutilation: Anti-Muslim Racism and Femonationalism in the United States".

I am a practicing urologist with expertise in female genital cutting. In this commentary, I respond to Dr Dina Bader's article "From the War on Terror to the Moral Crusade Against Female Genital Mutilation." I outline the current climate around genital cutting, the various actors shaping female genital cutting (FGC) legislation, and public perceptions surrounding the issue. I conclude that legislative changes sweeping across the United States to ban FGC have a variety of motivations. Some are to lift politicians' profiles; some are to prevent destination FGC cutting domestically. The possibility of increased racial profiling or increased Islamophobia is perhaps underrecognized by liberals, and perhaps a discreet and intentional agenda for conservative lawmakers. The effect of this legislation also increases attention on the genital alteration of all children, male, female, and intersex, which could be the greatest benefit of all.

Who Is Attending? The Role of Child Ethnicity and Maternal Demographics in Research Engagement and Early Identification of Autism.

Inequitable access to early autism developmental surveillance is evident globally. However, there is limited research examining autism diagnosis, ethnicity, and community profiles when engaging in research for the early identification of autism. We aimed to understand the relationships between child ethnicity, maternal demographics, and autism diagnosis, comparing retrospective data from the 2016 census for eight local government areas (LGAs) in Victoria, Australia. Maternal and child health (MCH) nurses monitored 13,511 children under 42 months for the early signs of autism using the Social Attention Communication Surveillance-Revised (SACS-R) and SACS-R Preschool (SACS-PR) tools during well-child checks. Of these, 340 children with a "high likelihood" of autism attended developmental assessments. Participants' maternal ethnicity ('European maternal ethnicity', EME; 'non-European maternal ethnicity,' N-EME; 'mixed maternal ethnicity,' MME'), socioeconomic factors, and autism prevalence were compared to their LGA community. Results indicated that study participants were representative of their LGA communities, though bi- and multilingualism was higher in our cohort. Differences in current maternal employment, maternal education, annual family income, and autism prevalence were found between the N-EME, EME, and MME groups. Our study found that research engagement was driven by maternal education, maternal employment, and annual family income, and further research is required to understand these relationships.