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Concept
Racial profiling
Summary
Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involves discrimination against minority populations and often builds on negative stereotypes of the targeted demographic. Racial profiling can involve disproportionate stop searches, traffic stops, and the use of surveillance technology for facial identification.
Racial profiling can occur de jure, when the state has policies in place that target specific racial groups, or de facto, when the practice may occur outside official legislation.
Critics argue that racial profiling is discriminatory, as it disproportionately targets people of color. Supporters argue that it can be an effective tool for preventing crime but acknowledge that the practice should be closely monitored and must be used in a way that respects civil rights.
The subject of racial profiling has sparked debate between philosophers who disagree on its moral status. Some believe that racial profiling is morally permissible under certain circumstances, whereas others argue it is never morally permissible.
Those who argue in favor of racial profiling usually set some conditions for the practice to be justified. The profiling should be fair, evidence-based and non-abusive. Proponents of racial profiling generally argue that, if these conditions are met, it can be an efficient tool for crime prevention because it allows law enforcement to focus their efforts on groups that are statistically more likely to commit crimes.
The most influential defense of racial profiling comes from Mathias Risse and Richard Zeckhauser. Risse and Zeckhauser provide a consequentialist analysis of racial profiling, weighing the benefits and costs against each other. They conclude that racial profiling is morally permissible because the harms done to the search subjects are fewer than the potential benefits for society in terms of security.
Official source
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