Criminal vs. Racial Profiling: Key Differences Explained
This paper examines the distinctions between criminal profiling and racial profiling in law enforcement. Criminal profiling uses behavioral evidence — actions, habits, and associates — to identify suspects, while racial profiling targets individuals based primarily on race or ethnicity. The paper discusses community-level efforts to curb racial profiling, particularly the Community Problem-Oriented Policing (CPOP) program adopted in partnership with the ACLU, which has reduced both incarceration and crime rates. It also analyzes a high-profile Cincinnati case in which a University of Cincinnati police officer fatally shot an unarmed Black motorist, captured on body camera footage, illustrating how racial profiling can escalate into lethal violence and underscoring the need for systemic police reform.
- Defining Criminal and Racial Profiling: Contrasts behavioral criminal profiling with race-based profiling
- Community Reforms to Address Racial Profiling: CPOP program reduces crime and racial profiling locally
- A Case Study: Racial Profiling in Cincinnati: Officer fatally shoots unarmed Black man; murder charge filed
- Conclusion: Argues for accountability and expanded community policing
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper opens with clear, cited definitions that establish a meaningful distinction between criminal and racial profiling, grounding the argument in expert sources before moving to application.
- It balances conceptual analysis with concrete local examples — the CPOP program and the Cincinnati shooting — giving abstract concepts real-world weight.
- The use of body camera footage as evidence within the case study demonstrates critical engagement with primary source material, not just secondary commentary.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of comparison-and-contrast as an organizational strategy. By defining criminal profiling and racial profiling side by side early in the essay, the author creates a clear analytical framework that anchors every subsequent example and argument. This technique helps readers follow the logical progression from definition, to policy response, to case study.
Structure breakdown
The essay moves in three logical stages: (1) definitional comparison of criminal versus racial profiling, using expert sources; (2) a discussion of local reform efforts, specifically CPOP, with outcome data on reduced incarceration and crime; and (3) a focused case study of a fatal police shooting in Cincinnati, used to illustrate the human consequences of racial profiling and reinforce the argument for reform. A brief conclusion ties the ethical stakes together.
Defining Criminal and Racial Profiling
Criminal profiling is the act of using a profile of crime in order to locate and identify suspects. In the words of Grafton (2008), it is "where you look at a specific crime and you try to determine — does it occur in a specific way and is it caused by a specific type of person?" Racial profiling, on the other hand, is the act of using race to locate and identify suspects — "to target people" (Dutta, 2010). Criminal profiling is part of a process that law enforcement agents employ in order to gain a better understanding of crime and crime-ridden areas.
Racial profiling is often confused with criminal profiling because criminal profiles frequently produce a theme of an "ethnic group in control for a specific type of crime" (Grafton, 2008). However, racial profiling is fundamentally different: it is part of a process of harassing individuals based primarily on their race or ethnicity, rather than on the fact that they fit a criminal profile based on their actions, habits, or associates. In short, criminal profiling looks at actions, while racial profiling looks at skin color.
Community Reforms to Address Racial Profiling
Among the efforts to curb or prevent racial profiling at the local level, the police department has "established a Citizen Complaint Authority with investigative and subpoena powers over police" (Semuels, 2015). The department also joined with the ACLU to "adopt community problem-oriented policing, or CPOP" (Semuels, 2015). This program is designed to have law enforcement agents focus on the root causes of crime rather than simply on arresting criminals.
Since the implementation of CPOP, the police have seen both incarceration rates and crime rates drop considerably. CPOP has been effective in curbing racial profiling by law enforcement because it refocuses energy on addressing the causes of crime rather than arresting people who fit a specific racial profile. This is an important development in the relationship between law enforcement and the community, especially considering the tensions that have risen following the shooting death of a teenaged, unarmed Black male, as well as subsequent riots and protests. The city also has a longer history of racial tension between minority communities and the law enforcement officers who police them.
Conclusion
This case is a tragic example of how racial profiling can end in utterly senseless violence. It is also one more reason why programs like CPOP are invaluable wherever tensions between racial minorities and the police are evident. There should not be one set of laws for one group and another for a different group — all parties must be held accountable. Reform efforts that address the underlying causes of crime, rather than targeting individuals by race, are essential to building trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
References
Dutta, S. (2010). Criminal profiling vs. racial profiling. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2010/nov/22/opinion/la-oe-dutta-racial-profiling-20101122
Grafton, L. (2008). Law enforcement expert discusses differences between criminal and racial profiling. Shreveport Times. Retrieved from http://archive.shreveporttimes.com/article/99999999/NEWS01/801200303/Law-enforcement-expert-discusses-differences-between-criminal-racial-profiling
Koffler, J. (2015). University of Cincinnati cop indicted in killing of unarmed Black man. Time. Retrieved from http://time.com/3976976/samuel-dubose-footage/
Semuels, A. (2015). How to fix a broken police department. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/cincinnati-police-reform/393797/
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