Is Profiling a Crime?

Corey Brown


Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority (via mechanisms such as legal systems) can ultimately prescribe aconviction. Individual human societies may each define crime and crimes differently, in different localities (state, local, international), at different time stages of the so-called "crime" (planning, disclosure, supposedly intended, supposedly prepared, incomplete, completed or futuristically proclaimed after the "crime".


when in certain area in the city do you get treated differently? Do you get pulled over by the police frequently? Is profiling right when done in a certain manner? This brings me to say should racial profiling or profiling in any manner be acceptable to us? and should it be a crime to do so?


Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement (e.g. make a traffic stop or arrest). The practice is controversial and is illegal in some nations, and the empirical evidence is that it is an ineffective strategy.


Take the police policy stop and frisk used in Philadelphia for example,the situation in which a police officer who is suspicious of an individual detains the person and runs his hands lightly over the suspect's outer garments to determine if the person is carrying a concealed weapon.One of the most controversial police procedures is the stop and frisk search. This type of limited search occurs when police confront a suspicious person in an effort to prevent a crime from taking place. The police frisk (pat down) the person for weapons and question the person.

Stop and frisk should be illegal for police to do but, since the process catches some drug dealers once in awhile, its allowed to be done. Police misconduct like that permitted by this stop and frisk policy is nothing new here. In fact, awhile back in 1979, Philadelphia became the first city in America to be sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for committing and condoning “widespread and harsh” acts of police wrongdoing meaning violating peoples rights and getting a way with it. Bad police work is unconstitutional, threatening, violent, and racist. It’s also good for the bad guys who love it when their guns and crack rocks that are illegally confiscated are later suppressed because the evidence doesn't hold up in court, on the illegal search the police previously conducted.

Saggy pants

Controversy: concerning the Saggy pants epidemic in today's society.
Conflict theory/Functionalism
by Faith Smith

Some people feel that it's inappropriate to wear their pants below the waist line revealing their underwear. Some say that Saggy pants originated in the prison system the belts were taken away from men to prevent suicide attempts. this is not a proven fact of of the fad. Recently several incidents have taken place throughout America involving acts of people wearing Saggy pants. A man was arrested at San Francisco International Airport because he refused to pull his pants up. This struck my attention so I decided to post a blog about Saggy pants. Some say that "If he was a rapper he would been asked for his autograph instead of being arrested" www.newyorktimes.com.







Recently several incidents have taken place throughout America involving acts of people wearing Saggy pants.In October 2010 a man asked two teenage boys who were standing in front of his door to pull up their saggy pants when they refused he shot at both of them hitting one in the the butt twice.
www.nashvillecriminaldefenseblog.com  
The man was arrested and and is in jail charged with two aggravated assaults. The teenager shot did recover from his wounds but come on now isn't this a bit too extreme.


Often times I even feel offended when I'm in the presence of a person wearing Saggy pants and it appears as if their suggesting to the public " kiss my ....." On the other It's not that Deep. However I do feel that the fashion industry can take some of the blame for this fad because it can be difficult to find jeans that are cut to stay in place for both men and women In particular the Skinny cut or baggy pants. Men like the fashion yet in order not to dispose their bottoms they wear fashionable colored boxer underwear thus creating the Saggy pants. For women bikini cut and low rise designs make waist lines revealing if left bare with out thus some wear thong underwear revealing their bottoms.

  In order to get the inside scoop on why so many feel it's okay to dress in this manor I decided to ask two of my male cousin who wear saggy pants. Their 19 and 20 year old college students who lives in State College, PA a community of Penn State College located between North and South Allentown,PA. Their response was "It's a part of my swagger (style) the females love it" They both also mentioned that the way their jeans are cut in order for their butts not be exposed they wear fashionable boxers and a belt to keep them in place. In conclusion when I decided to use Saggy pants as a blog theme I had an UN-biased opinion of Saggy pants wearers, I felt that it's disrespectful to dress in this fashion. I don't think anyone wants another persons butt in their face its rude. However I realized that it's not that deep. Also my first theories on saggy pants was that it was linked to conflict/functionalist and it could also be seen as deviance.
For the most its nothing more than a fashion trend. Surely I wouldn't dress in this manor and in some cases it's hard to be avoided Eventually I believe it will fade out and we will be able to to focus on more important issues like education and health care. Also create more jobs it folks would have no other alternative but to follow a dress code if they had a job that demanded them to do so. I also agree with Obama "Just pull your pants up" This would insure no further incidents of assaults or arrest stemming from Saggy pants wearer's

DRIVING WHILE BLACK

By: Frank Carbone

       On March 15th, last Tuesday, the Daily News ran an article a front page article by Marc Lamont Hill that will be the reason I never buy that "news" paper again.  Mr. Hill. told his tragic tale of being a victim of racial profiling.  Mr. Hill was dropping a friend of one night in the lovely Logan section of the city.  Mr Hill happens to have a nice new BMW and dresses nice so of course he is a target by the PPD.
 "Police Officer Richard DeCoatsworth -hailed as a hero when he survived a gunshot blast to the face in 2007" happens to be the "Latino Officer" who eventually pulls Mr. Hill over.  I'll let you read the rest.

Please click here:
http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/marc_lamont_hill/20110315_Marc_Lamont_Hill___Patrolling_while_racist_.html?c=r


Really? "I silently prayed that I would make it home that night alive. After all, for blacks, our behavior does not merely determine whether we get a ticket or a verbal warning. It determines whether we live or die." Really?  That is ludicrous.  Maybe, because I'm white I don't understand if that's the case I encourage my fellow students to shed some light on that feeling for me.  I know that if I'm driving a nice car around in a bad neighborhood at night that there is a chance that I'll get pulled over because I look suspicious.  Totally understandable, it looks like I'm looking to buy drugs or up to something worse so if I get pulled over I would not be confrontational with the Police and I certainly would not fear for my life.

                                                     The hero cop in question.

   Please read the article, I don't want to rewrite it and bore you with a huge post. I just thought it was an interesting story that kind of related to the white criminal black criminal story of profiling. I am also including two more links from follow up articles from both sides of the story.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20101015_Columbia_professor_sues_Philadelphia_and_decorated_officer_over_traffic_stop.html?c=r

http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20110322_Letters__Professor_Marc_Lamont_Hill__here_s_what_it_looks_like_from_the_cop_s_side.html