Racial Profiling in the Age of Terrorism

This seminar offers an awareness of the ethnic, racial, and cultural sensitivity issues that law enforcement and security officers are required to deal with during encounters with the public. It also addresses the legal issues surrounding the issue of racial profiling.

Participants will benefit from this course by:

• Reflecting on the core mission and values of law enforcement and security personnel
• Understanding that the protection of human and civil rights is a central part of the law enforcement mission, not an obstacle to it
• Considering how the level of public trust affects the ability to carry out law enforcement duties
• Becoming aware of the key decision points where racial bias in law enforcement can occur
• Identifying logical and social arguments against racial and ethnic profiling
• Improving enforcement officers' abilities to articulate reasonable suspicion and probable cause
• Knowing the difference between racial and ethnic profiling and criminal profiling
• Examining ways to reduce misunderstanding, conflict, and complaints due to perceived racial and ethnic bias
• Identifying and sharing successful practices so they can be replicated, and identifying unsuccessful practices so they can be avoided
• Understanding that the experiences of other ethnic groups with law enforcement are often quite different from their own
• Receiving instruction in the subject of interpersonal skills relating to diverse populations

Topics include the following:

• History and origins of racial profiling and bias-based law enforcement
• Impact of racial and ethnic profiling on society
• Impact of racial and ethnic profiling on the law enforcement and security professions
• Early warning systems (EWS) tools and techniques to prevent personnel misconduct
• Strategies to eliminate racial profiling

Workshop tips:

• One need not consider race to the exclusion of all other factors to be engaged in racial profiling. A "profile" will often contain a number of factors. If one or more of them is race, then a racial profile has been established.
• Racial Profiling denies equal protection guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment by focusing on immutable characteristics.
• The constitutional test of when racial classifications are legally permissible is the "compelling interest test," in which courts look at such classifications to determine whether their use is narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling governmental interest.
• Education and training programs to reduce racial and ethnic bias in law enforcement should not convey an accusatory tone to investigators rather they should engage personnel in discussion, respecting the numerous dimensions, complexities, and subtleties of the problem.
• For more information on racial profiling and other security topics, access the International Bulletin of Political Psychology (IBPP), a weekly international journal at http://security.pr.erau.edu.

Presenter:

Kirk Miller's interest in workplace diversity issues stems from his studies at Candler School of Theology where his focus was in the area of phenomenology, a discipline which examines the unique and similar aspects of diverse cultures.

He has an uncanny ability to get to the heart of an organization's dynamics, which enables him to work with client organizations to develop strategies for greater productivity, profitability, performance, and employee retention and satisfaction. His special passion is helping organizations achieve the values and behaviors that ultimately brings them greater success and employee and customer loyalty.

Miller has extensive experience in helping client organizations institute diversity initiatives, having conducted over 1600 workshops for private and public organizations.

Additional Information about our Racial Profiling Training

This course is available as a one-day or two-day experiential workshop and facilitated discussion.

Background:

The issue of racial profiling is one of the more disturbing and controversial issues to confront law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve in recent memory. While virtually all the evidence so far is anecdotal, there exists to some degree the perception that police officers enforce laws based on the ethnicity of the individual.

In its broadest sense, racial profiling by law enforcement officers is the practice of some officers to stop, search, and investigate minorities, both on the street and while traveling in vehicles, based solely on their racial or ethnic background, rather than on their actions. Racially Motivated Law Enforcement Is Unconstitutional.

The following states have enacted legislation addressing racial profiling: California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Washington. At least twelve more states have had legislation introduced: Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Virginia.

This program will offer an awareness of the ethnic, racial and cultural sensitivity issues that law officers are required to deal with during encounters with the public. It will also address the legal issues surrounding the issue of racial profiling. Topics include: the law enforcement professional, cultural perceptions and misperceptions of the public, law enforcement as a role model, conducting legal and ethical law enforcement functions, safe verbal intervention, and basic constitutional court rulings.

Also the workshop will be tailored to agency- and community-specific needs, concerns and experiences. Agency specific policies will be discussed and must be provided for inclusion in the instructional materials.

The Dilemma:

Georgetown University law professor David Cole analyzes the nature and extent of racial disparities in the criminal justice system and the dynamics that contribute to them in his book NO Equal Justice: Race and Class in the American Criminal Justice System . Cole argues that while the majority doesn't pay the cost of the criminal justice policies that it passes, over time those costs come home in the form of decreased respect for law and unwillingness to cooperate with the system, leading to a lessened ability to control crime and heightened social danger for all. The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution requires that no state shall "deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction equal protection of the laws." The Fifth Amendment requires the federal government to abide by this principle as well.

Workshop Format:

Seminars, workshops and skills training should be interesting and inspiring, and should include practical examples that can be applied for immediate results. We break information down into digestible pieces so participants can internalize ideas. Each stand-alone lesson combines short lecture material, exciting and entertaining group experiential exercises, and discussion.

This workshop is designed to incorporate an appropriate blend of humor, fun and serious exploration to allow participants to assimilate and retain large amounts of information, and reduce misunderstanding, conflict and complaints because of perceived racial bias. The focus is on racially based behavior of police officers rather than racially biased attitudes. It is unrealistic to believe that an education or training program will alter an individual’s deeply held attitudes and beliefs .

The workshop is designed to engage participants in discussion rather than preach to them . It is designed to raise the participant’s awareness of the complexities and subtleties of the issues surrounding racial profiling. What is most important is that the topics and issues be discussed openly, honestly and in enough depth for real learning to occur. The workshop can be presented in a one-day or a two-day format.

Learning Objective:

The participants will be able to identify the legislative requirements placed on peace officers and law enforcement agencies regarding racial profiling. Participants will understand that the protection of human and civil rights is a central and affirmative part of the police mission, not an obstacle to effective policing. Among these requirements are the rights to equal protection under the law, to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, to be free from compulsory self-incrimination, to have access to a lawyer, and to be free from unnecessary force and violence.

Learning Objective:

The participants will become familiar with Supreme Court decisions and state court decisions involving appropriate actions in traffic stops and field policing. Cases will be discussed such as: Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 116 S.Ct. 1769 (1996) Graham v. State, 119 Md App 444, 705 A.2d 82 (1998) Ferris v. State, 355 Md. 356, 735 A.2d 491 (1999)

Learning Objective:

The participants will be able to identify logical and social arguments against racial profiling such as:

1. There are appropriate reasons for unusual traffic stops (suspicious behavior, the officer's intuition, MOs, etc.), but police work must stop short of cultural stereotyping and racism.
2. Racial profiling would result in criminal arrests, but only because it would target all members of a race randomly – the minor benefits would be far outweighed by the distrust and anger towards law enforcement by minorities and the public as a whole.
3. Racial profiling is self-fulfilling bad logic: if you believed that minorities commit more crimes, then you would look for more minority criminals, find them in disproportionate numbers, and perhaps even encourage crime among minorities.
4. Inappropriate traffic stops create suspicion and antagonism towards officers and make future stops more volatile – a racially based stop today can throw suspicion on tomorrow's legitimate stop.
5. Focusing on race, not only harasses innocent citizens, but overlooks criminals of all races and backgrounds – it is a waste of law enforcement resources.

Learning Objective:

The participants will be able to identify key decision points at which racial bias in policing can occur such as:

1. Deciding who is worth surveilling for criminal activity including which vehicle tags to run
2. Deciding who to detain to investigate suspicions
3. Deciding what attitude to adopt during field contacts and stops (for example, firm, friendly, confrontational)
4. Deciding what actions to make suspects take during stops
5. Deciding whether and how to explain to citizens the reasons for contacts or stops
6. Deciding whether to search or request consent to search, people and vehicles, and how extensive and intrusive the search will be
7. Deciding how dangerous suspects are, and what level of force (if any) is necessary to control them
8. Deciding what enforcement action to take (for example, no action, verbal warning, citation, arrest)
9. Deciding what charges to file (for example, statutes, ordinances; single, multiple; felonies, misdemeanors)

Learning Objective:

The participants will review, clarify and discuss:

• statutes and case law about search and seizure, custodial interrogation, and equal protection
• departmental policies governing police discretion
• departmental policies governing how officers should address various incidents (for example, drug offenses, domestic violence, and incidents involving people with mental illnesses)

Learning Objective:

Effective communication skills can be a police officer’s most important attribute. This is particularly so when engaged in a traffic stop or a field interview on the street. According to studies conducted in several states, the number one citizen complaint about police officers is the officer’s verbal conduct.

By comparison, only about one-fourth of the complaints filed against police officers dealt with excessive force issues. Participants will discuss and/or practice:

• The key elements in any stop - civility and caution.
• Telling the citizen why you stopped him or her without any hostility or posturing on your part.
• Avoiding any excessive small-talk or inappropriate questioning.
• Keeping physical, or nonverbal indicators friendly and neutral, such as: Eye contact, Stance, Position of hands, Facial expression
• The benefits of an apology or adequate explanation offered to citizens stopped who prove to be innocent of any wrongdoing.

Sgt. Larry E. Capps, of the Missouri City, Texas PD, has coined a police-citizen interaction dynamic, appropriate for this discussion, which he calls CPR, for:

Civility – A state of affairs characterized by tolerance, kindness, consideration, and understanding. Civility can be expressed by positive action, or even inaction, as when police officers refrain from overreacting to verbal outbursts from angry citizens.

Professionalism – In a broad sense, a concept of excellence or a continuous striving for excellence. Its core elements include technical knowledge, moral judgments, a client-oriented practice, considerable discretion given to practitioners, and most importantly, an acknowledgement that policing is a “moral call” profession, in which members are duty bound to respond, whenever and wherever called, regardless of whom calls them.

Restraint – The self-control exercised by officers and their selection of the least intrusive means of accomplishing a legitimate police objective.

Conclusion:

Over the past few years, hundreds if not thousands of articles about racial profiling and traffic stop data collection have been published. Most experts agree on one point – there is no agreement. Racial profiling positions range from “all cops are racist” to “it does not exist” to “it’s just a perception in the minority community”.

Most law enforcement personnel are highly ethical and dedicated professional men and women who risk their lives every day to make our communities safe. Racial profiling only diminishes their efforts and tarnishes their honor. This workshop will deal with the sensitive issue of ending/avoiding racial profiling to the benefit of the community and law enforcement officers.