http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/19/5419854/the-minority-report-this-computer-predicts-crime-but-is-it-racist
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**Consider watching Minority Report as well. A copy is available for checkout in the school library.
I think that profiling as it pertains to racism is extremely wrong. As far as it is concerned statistics can be offered in any situation but that doesn't mean ALWAYS. I think that it may be helpful and has probably helped at some point in time, but that does not make it right. How can we ever truly move away from racism if we think that because a person looks a certain way they may be guilty.
ReplyDeleteI find this interesting because after reading the article i became confused by the title. I understand that the young man who was interviewed may have been of color but that didn't make it a racial profiling situation. It was however, an injustice; the police were border-lining harassment perhaps because of his race. The computer's job was not to choose him based on his race, it's job was to take from all the information such as past records and living situation and deduce who most likely will commit a violent crime.
DeleteI agree, I don't think profiling is an acceptable crime fighting technique either. For one, it’s unfair to those who are innocent. At times it seems its an invasion of privacy .It appears once your on the list, your marked for life, like the Scarlet letter.
DeleteWhile profiling is a great way to start and narrow down suspects, I do not think that it is a good way to convict a criminal. It leads to unjust convictions of innocent people, harassment and labeling of misjudged people. While profiling narrows down to certain people that "could have" committed the crime in question, imagine seeing the police, FBI or other crime fighting figures pull up to your neighbors house and question them. That relationship is now strained because they have become suspect of a crime. Profiling leads to many judgments, in and out of the court house.
DeleteIf you are using profiling to narrow down suspects, how can you not use it for conviction? Profiling has been used for many years by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies to catch serial killers along with other serious criminals. People have been wrongfully convicted of crimes under many different circumstances. Without some sort of profiling we wouldn't have much of a justice system at all. There has to be some sort of profiling there in order to investigate.
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DeleteI don’t necessarily believe that profiling is based on race it has to do more with the demographics of a person. In the article it clearly says it is using criminal backgrounds to target individuals. If a certain type of crime has occurred in that area the system is meant to follow up on individual that have been convicted of a similar crime. The mentality that profiling is based on race has gotten many of individuals in trouble with the law. When you are approached by an officer of the law if you immediately began with a demeanor that the only reason you are being approached is because of your race, it is going to make the situation complicated.
To Eva you say that profiling shouldn't be used but the purpose of profiling and part of what Amy said is that it's suppose to narrow down the suspects by using facts of peoples living conditions and their history. You can't say or even not use profiling to fight crime because all police use profiling to an extent, using the facts of peoples lives or culture or even their history to prove if they could have done it or not. What I could suggest is that if you like to watch a show called Criminal minds I think you would have a better idea of what profiling could do for the world and how it is being used today. Of course not everyone uses this tactic but it also shows that it's not always correct in its profiling but usually accurate.
DeleteTerran, Reading through the other postings on this issue, its clear everyone has their own opinion. Racial profiling is a reality in todays world, but is it always right? I can see where it might be helpful, but look at what has been going on in the news lately. Sometimes the information the police or FBI get is not always accurate or complete. I still think its an unfair practice, whatever happened to "everyone is innocent until proven guilty"?
DeleteProfiling is an acceptable form of technique because it separates the good from the bad, most of the time. Criminals are getting sneakier and better at their crafts, and law enforcement is getting wiser and more efficient of catching onto them quickly.
DeleteNo, profiling isn't acceptable because I know more "professional looking" men that are the biggest crooks out there. I know "thug looking" dudes that are intelligent and honest and genuinely good guys. Why the cops are busy harassing/profiling the guy with the Hummer on 28 inch rims, sporting tattoos, they should be harassing/profiling the guy with the Mercedes wearing a suit.
DeleteI think Profiling can be considered a racist gesture and it is wrong in many different ways but profiling can be a good way to catching the real bad guy. It that can be acceptable to profile someone.
DeleteYou are right LaToya, profiling is the same as racism. It's just a nicer way of saying it. I can say that the majority of us right away judge a person by their looks. If we see a person and they are dressed in worn our clothes we right away assume they are poor, but we could be wrong because this person could be a millionaire and they probably just dress that way because they like to.
DeleteI agree with Sugar, I have seen surgeons that have tattoos, many people profile and judge people that have tattoos as being ghetto people. Tattoos don't make a person who they are, but we right away judge them.
DeleteIt is not an acceptable technique because of the many that would fall under a list and become targets that will eventually land them in jail. For example, the case of Mr. David Wiggins who "was convicted largely based on the victim's identification and served twenty four years behind bars" later to be found innocent due to the advancement of DNA testing.
ReplyDeleteThere are many times that profiling has been helpful in cases. Profiling for serial killers for example has had widespread success. There are always going to be instances where the legal system fails as we are human and do mistakes. however if the application is used in the right way and for the right purpose it could make all the difference in getting a criminal off the streets.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your response. Criminal profiling helps take criminals off the streets. The only thing that the police should change is the range of research. The profiling should span to all communities and all races. That would make profiling fair to everyone.
DeleteI agree with you Stormy, and that's great that this system has helped to catch these criminals, but you are right it would fail sometimes. This would be great to have this system in every city and every country.
DeleteIf law enforcement is utilizing their "profiling technique" then by all means, profile away. If it helps find serial killers, rapists, murderers, and other criminals, it should be used. Often.
DeleteI do believe profiling is a good crime fighting technique. Profiling has help solve many cases. The only thing that should change about profiling is to have a wide range of research. Police departments should search within all communities. Not just narrowing down to one race, like how it was said on the article. There are delinquents in all races and in all type of households. If you are a good citizen and have not committed any crimes, then there should be no reason to cooperate with the police. Profiling makes communities safer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with everything said here. Like stated, there are criminals in every race. The fact that someone is a certain race does not mean that they are committing a crime. If one person commits a crime, it does not imply that their whole race did it as well.
DeleteI believe profiling is good only when there is a crime not to just picked someone just because a computer say so. I do not believe it was a racial issue because to my reading he was just a ordinary kid. The harassment by the police was not necessary. As people in higher authority, we do not was to cause people to commit crimes because a number came up. Chicago is a high crime city and they should focus on people who have committed and is in the act of doing criminal activities.
DeleteI believe profiling is good only when there is a crime not to just picked someone just because a computer say so. I do not believe it was a racial issue because to my reading he was just a ordinary kid. The harassment by the police was not necessary. As people in higher authority, we do not was to cause people to commit crimes because a number came up. Chicago is a high crime city and they should focus on people who have committed and is in the act of doing criminal activities.
DeleteI agree with Itzel, most people are judge by where they live, it's not the neighborhood that makes the person, but it's like people right away think because you live in a bad neighborhood that has alot of crime then you're like that too. Every neighborhood should be checked on no matter what races live there.
DeleteIs profiling a crime fighting technique? Yes I believe so, but it would only concern those who already have committed crimes and are, "Marked", so to speak. As Miles Wernick states, who is behind the system that irrelevantly separates or narrows down to the heat list of hot spots. With today's modern age society technology, this shouldn't be of any surprise to any individual. More than anything, I believe that if you're a law abiding citizen, then you shouldn't have anything to worry about. It would only target those who have a habit of falling into adversaries constantly. So yes profiling is a useful tool of crime fighting technique.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your post Jose, with our day and age we really shouldn't be surprised that we aren't already have certain hot spots with the our current technology that with alot of people update their daily lives with what they are doing and what they aren't doing. We really don't have to worry if we are innocent because if we are doing everything right then there should be nothing to worry about. Of course the law isn't perfect but I'm sure we can rest assure that we wouldn't have to worry about these hot spots, if we aren't doing anything sketchy.
DeleteIn my opinion profiling can be an acceptable crime fighting technic, as long as this technic is use in general in all racial and economic groups. Low income neighborhood or a specific race should not be the target on the purpose to the use of this system. This technic should only be used as a prediction, not as a fact therefore, law enforcement personnel who is using this technic must take in account Mr. Wernick’s comparison of this technic with the weather forecast or a computer-aid diagnosis in medicine. None of those technics or systems are 100% accurate, therefore innocent people could be scanned by mismatching information and police officers expertise should always play an important role in verifying the results of this system. I think this technic can be very useful only if it is used as a crime fighting tool and not as an easy way to identified and/or to discriminate against minority groups.
ReplyDeleteDinorah, I agree with you to a certain point when you said the technique should only be used as a prediction. No one and especially a machine can not predict if someone would commit a crime. It will be always targeted at the low income, Blacks and Latinos. All races commit criminal acts. Who would of ever thought that Darlie Routier of Rowlett, Tx would kill her sons and she is Caucasian? Machines do not predict things that people do only the individual can predict how he will live as a criminal or productive citizen.
DeleteDinorah, I agree with you to a certain point when you said the technique should only be used as a prediction. No one and especially a machine can not predict if someone would commit a crime. It will be always targeted at the low income, Blacks and Latinos. All races commit criminal acts. Who would of ever thought that Darlie Routier of Rowlett, Tx would kill her sons and she is Caucasian? Machines do not predict things that people do only the individual can predict how he will live as a criminal or productive citizen.
DeleteDena, I see your point and understand that nobody can predict what is in someone else's mind. The way I see this system working is using the advantages of technology which this system is promise to do is to; base on the police records (which will most likely be individual with criminal history) will create a tentative list (prediction list) that will narrow down the huge records handled by the police department then is the police officers job to watch and to investigate the high risk suspects closely. And like I said it will be a great tool if it is use fairly and evenly to all ethnicity and social groups.
DeleteDinorah, I agree with you at the end but make sure that no harassment charges are brought against you and lawsuits against the city.
DeleteWhich there will be a lot of harrassment charges and lawsuits against the city, but like Dinorah said it will be a great tool if it will be used fairly to everyone. Do not target people by their race or economy they live in.
DeleteI agree with you Dinorah. Profiling should target every race and demographic. We shouldn't trust a computer to help us capture a criminal or possible criminal. We should use it as a reference. Machines can only read what we program them to do.
DeleteI believe profiling is an acceptable crime fighting technique. In the article ‘The minority report: Chicago's new police computer predicts crimes, but is it racist?’ mentions the profiling software that is being used to profile possible future criminals and monitor them closely. I believe being proactive is a great way to prevent crime. If a person comes on the ‘heat list’ it is because of something criminal they have done in the past, or the criminal friends/family they currently associate with. The software does not add people to the list just because of their skin color. If this profiling method helps to decrease homicides, shooting and other major crimes then this should be implemented in every state.
ReplyDeleteHello Marianna, you make a very good point. If certain profiling techniques reduce shootings and other criminal activities in Chicago then these same techniques should be implemented in other states. I agree with that. I believe that profiling, if done properly, is a great way to prevent crime. If a person has shown a pattern of being involved in criminal activity and or surrounds themselves with a bad crowd, it is acceptable to profile this particular person. However, there is a downside to using profiling as crime fighting technique. Can you say "Trayvon Martin?" This case is a perfect example of profiling gone wrong. Once people start labeling others a threat based on their skin color and or their attire, that is when it becomes unacceptable.
DeleteYou are correct about labeling others based on skin color but this particular article states the profiling used is based on a formula and not on skin color. There will always be racial profiling in this world, there is no eliminating it, but we can educate our children and youth better to less it.
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DeleteIf I agree with the profiling tactics used in the article but disagree with profiling based on skin color then it is safe to say they did not factor in skin color. If we can get rid of racist attitudes then we can eliminate racial profiling but I do not see that happening anytime soon because people are still raising their children to be racist. People are not born racist; therefore, it is possible to get rid of racist attitudes and thus racial profiling.
DeleteDonald,
DeleteI agree with you on not making skin color the profiling issue. People will always be racist due to the fact of the environment that they are raised up in. People profile people for different things but the biggest one to me is racial profiling.
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DeleteIs it racist though? What I mean by that is there not things that in the cultures that everyone does differently? Because profiling isn't just about what they have done in the past but also what could have effective to a more mental to a individual that could have made them split. Maybe it was based on the person’s culture and how they live. Because not everyone in the world does the exact same thing. Now I'm not racist I love everyone because everyone is different. But there are things that can point or profile to a certain type of people based on one’s background or how they were raised. Every criminal started out not committing a crime to begin with so everyone is still a suspect till proven guilty.
Deleteugggggggggggg, I just lost everything I typed!!!!
ReplyDeleteMy children are both multiracia, both have had incidents where they have been "detained" by the police for meeting certaing types of "profiling criteria". My son was stopped at 2am because he was deemed "suspicious", he was coming home from work, however the officer felt it necessary to run his tags, check his vehicle and ask him a thousand questions. My daughter and her friends (all of whom are straight A students) were walking from our apartments to the corner store about 11pm. They had been studying and took a break. They were all stopped and questioned because they were a "suspicious looking gang" not a group of friends walking to the store, but a "gang". Neither of my children have been in trouble with the law except traffic violations, so I am not sure how "racial profiling" helps in crime prevention. Its still a racist act, its a judgement call, and of course no matter the outcome, the police officer well always be right. Its supposed to be innocent until proven guilty, however, its really guilty until you can prove your innocence.
ReplyDeleteAnne that is very unfortunate that your kids had to experience those instances, and yes racial profiling is a racist act. However, there are different type of profiling. What I understand from this article is that the profiling system used as a crime fighting technic is to narrow down the high risk suspects that will possibly commit a crime. It will only pick suspects that are already in the police records for previous felonies, and it will only aid the police officers to do their job more efficiently. I believe that criminal hide in all colors and in all social groups, therefore, this technic can be very useful only if it is used fairly in all ethnic and social economic groups.
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DeleteMarianna BFebruary 18, 2015 at 10:11 AM
I am sorry your children were stopped by police when they were not doing anything wrong, but I think being young and out late may have been another factor in being. I have also been in a similar situation in Arizona when I was pulled over for no reason, I gave the officer my information and I was checked out and released. I did feel a little uncomfortable but I was not upset as I did not have anything to hide. I do not think racial profiling is good but I do think the program mentioned in the article is a good tool to be used.
I don't believe that your son should have been pulled over if he was just coming home from work. but your daughter and her friends the police look at that. a group coming out of apartments in the middle of the night is not a good look. plus a lot of apartments have curfews and they could have just probably been monitoring that, I don't know. but the article wasn't about racial profiling but in a sense crime profiling. they take action on watching the people previously convicted of crimes and watch the neighborhood in which they live so that they can develop a pattern which to me is not wrong.
DeleteWe often times automatically assume that profiling deals with race. That is not always true. There are certain standards that the police look at when they profile in cases such as murder or kidnapping. There are certain markers and predecessors that they take into account. Yes that helps them determine race, sex, and social class as well as working status. These things help detectives build profiles so they know where to start looking. Racial profiling is a whole separate issue and in no terms is a proper way to fight or deter crime.
DeleteWell Anne, unfortunately that is how profiling works sometimes. It's not a 100% guarantee that the person being accused is the right person. But I do agree with your point that it's more guilty till proven innocent and that's how there are some people who were accused of things that they didn't do and yet they have to suffer the judgment because they couldn't prove that they were innocent.
Deleteaccording to the article we are profiling neighborhoods. usually I do not recommend profiling but from the article it made me to realize that I do the same thing on a regular basis and believe in this specific case it is ok. I live in mesquite with a young son, my lease is ending in april and I have to find another home. well looking around there are a lot of nice homes but the area they are in turned me completely away from them. I avoid whole-heartedly to expose my son to certain parts of dallas because of the crime there. don't get me wrong there is crime everywhere but honestly there is more crime in certain areas. for example here, oakcliff, pleasant grove, or south dallas. I profile those areas on regular basis based on crime spikes. so for the police to profile places of high crime makes a lot of sense to me. if certain areas are prone to crime be alert on the fact that there is a strong possibility that it could be a strike there again. I don't think they should walk up to peoples doors and say "im watching you" but send out a letter maybe and tell these residents that they are staying in a high crime neighborhood (like they don't know) and that police are trying to crack down. don't tell them how because then people will assume its racial profiling which I don't believe it is and racial profiling is wrong.
ReplyDeleteAmaris, there is crime everywhere and believe a lot of crime is swept under the rugs in the suburb cities. Dallas is a big city compared to Mesquite, Plano, McKinney, Richardson, Plano, Addison and etc. I don't think that neighbors such as Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove or South Dallas should be on this list of profiling these areas because a machine can not predict anything. I have lived in Pleasant Grove for 12 years and have not been violated or harm since I have been here. Crime is everywhere and only and I do mean only expose to certain parts of the city and other suburbs have swept their crime under the carpet. Just recently, a Mesquite coach was charge with having improper relationship with a student. Crime is everywhere and you never know where it will hit. Once again, a machine can't predict when a crime will be committed only a person who is getting ready to commit a crime can tell you.
DeleteProfiling is a form of fighting crime it is not saying that it is one hundred percent accurate and nothing is fully guaranteed, but according to the article its focus is not to racially profile, but to help fight crime with its data. Not all crimes occur in bad neighborhoods or are committed by people who live in bad neighborhoods. The crime rate in poor areas are extremely higher than in areas that are occupied by hard working people who desire to stay out of high crime areas. Now if someone knocked on my door and were to tell me we are watching you, I personally would not take it the wrong way if I had nothing to hide. However if I was hanging around the wrong crowd or participating in illegal activities, it would definitely have me thinking twice about committing a crime. If people want to spent their time and resources on a research that would help fight crime, why not give it a try.
ReplyDeleteI do not think that a computer should be used to predict crime. The people that live in certain areas are living there due to their income among other reasons.Profiling should be used to help solve crimes.
ReplyDeletesadly living in low income areas do have an increase in being involved in criminal activity. not saying all but quite a few people who have lived in a low income area are involved in some kind of crime whether reported or not. not saying any of them are bad but living in those conditions a lot of people find ways to make money to provide or to even get out of that living situation and most times it's in an illegal way.
DeleteI agree with you, Billie. No computer can predict a crime and should only be used in helping solve the crime.
DeleteBillie I don't think the computers are being used to predict crime, but individuals criminal background.For example when a child is abducted I don't think there is anything wrong with the investigators utilizing this system to question sex offenders who live in that same neighborhood. Good or bad neighborhoods both contain bad people and if you are in a situation where you are living in a bad neighborhood due to your income, the system is not meant to target an individuals income but criminal background.
Deletebillie, that is also true using a computer to solve crimes is a better idea than using it to predict criminals. criminals are unpredictable, they come from high income or low income.
DeleteProfiling may be something to keep in mind. But, it is surely not he ONLY thing being utilized in the decision making process. Whether people admit or not, we all have our ways of "profiling." At the end of the day, you have to boil things down to an individual basis.
ReplyDeleteColbie, that might be true about we all profile people but that is no harm. I believe that is called judging to me. It does not land anyone into jail when we judge a person. You have to be careful when profiling because you don't want to cause anyone harm or end up in jail just because you thought it was a profile issue.
DeleteEvery person has been profiled in some way or another. People are profiled for the way they look. For instance people who have tattoos are said to be involved in crime. The fact is that every person has the potential to be a criminal it comes down to the choices a person makes. I am guilty as well of profiling. We all have biases against certain people and yes even races. If we take those negative issues and use them to try and solve crimes and problems and have concrete evidence before we arrest a person than profiling can have a positive affect.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Stormy. We have to set our biases aside so everyone will be treated fairly.
DeleteStormy that is very true we all have been profiled in a way.
DeletePeople do have to set these biases aside. Everyone has them. It needs to be used for the better, like you said.
DeleteProfiling does have an opportunity to be utilized by the technology mentioned in the article, to benefit the communities across America. Guilt, or the assumption of a false judgment, are the only two things that prevent this technology from being accepted. The technology allows for a law enforcement officer to make his own judgments and things like racism pose a major problem. Law abiding citizens of all color might help recreate such a racist mentality, but anyone who tries to stand up against the judgment of a law enforcement officer is only going to make things worse. What more than “everything is okay” do they want to know? For anyone with a bad criminal record, they chose to write that history. They can also choose to rewrite that image if they are willing to abide by the law. The fear of police officers has made it hard for many people to communicate with officers, but by taking the initiative to reassure them for personal safety, the whole community including the suspect and the officer, is better off. Also, this would instill trust between those who cooperate with the officers and the whole community will have a better relationship with the police force.
ReplyDeleteIf the police know where the convicted offenders usually operate, it would not be bad for them to monitor that area. Who knows, maybe they could have prevented my skateboard from being stolen out of my trunk. Perhaps they would have caught the suspect who stole my friend’s car overnight. Maybe they could have even prevented the murder of my 22 year old cousin, who was attacked by a man that had been convicted for the same type of violent abuse several times before. The majority of people who do not want to tell the cop what is going on upon being suspected are the same people who feel that they are doing something wrong. No matter what they are actually doing, by letting them profile oneself, that person will only get what they deserve – a good or a bad rep. I am the only person that chooses what my history and reputation will be, and the same goes for every individual. This use of criminal profiling technology can be accepted by the citizens of America and will show a substantial suppression in crime throughout any community.
ReplyDeleteProfiling could possibly be an acceptable crime fighting technique, if it was fair....however, being an American, Black nonetheless, racial profiling is normally what happens in my race. Always has been. We all know "my people story," so I'm conflicted about this topic. If it's relevant, use it.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely correct, profiling and stereotyping all of that because most of us live in a neighborhood that all our neighbors look like us..... ( I said most of us)
DeleteProfiling could possibly be an acceptable crime fighting technique, if it was fair....however, being an American, Black nonetheless, racial profiling is normally what happens in my race. Always has been. We all know "my people story," so I'm conflicted about this topic. If it's relevant, use it.
ReplyDeleteIf it was only fair but as we all know it, it would not be. It happens to all our races and some more than others. Even between races themselves.
DeleteI agree with you Sugar, it might be an acceptable crime fighting technique if it were fair, but its not always fair. I'm Hispanic and admit racial profiling does occur, it happened to my son. He was 22 at the time, had long hair, (a tail) and was pulled over because the police didn't believe the truck he was driving was his. They gave him a hard time of it, checked his entire truck then finally let him go.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand there is a problem with racial profiling. Race draws lines in a lot more issues than crime fighting but what kind of progress will see the extinction of that? The only progress will come from the honest truth. What is that person who is being "racially profiled" really doing wrong? If there is nothing wrong then let it be and deal with it. It might sound difficult or irritating but I think it is a good use of time if it will create a safe environment for suspected individuals who are innocent. It would be worse to show a police officer degrading assurance with some type of attitude that he is out to racially profile. It would be worse to blow off a technology that identifies all previous offenders, and CLEARLY shows a chance for reduction in crime, just because of racist Americans. No matter what the cop will do with that information it can only be beneficial for the people who are abiding by the law. Why let race be a barrier when it comes to recognizing criminal history? This method of profiling can be refined and utilized in a very productive manner to create a level of awareness that is harmless and beneficial to all law abiding citizens.
ReplyDeleteI watch a lot of crime shows and I have never seen someone profiled because of color, where they live or for whatever a person has. It has always been about the person committing the crime and then the profiling starts. People have to learn that machines only put out what people put into them.
ReplyDeleteDena well said I completely agree with you a computer is not going to give you a criminal record on its own. A criminal record is something you obtain by your criminal actions. I think the profiling problem begins with the media when they show police using excessive force on individuals who were simply detained or pulled over and taking it to another level. They will become angry because they think they are being harassed and refuse to cooperate. I believe that not cooperating with the law will cause the officer to use other means other than talking to get you to cooperate. Trust me I am not the happiest person when I get pulled over and I hate getting tickets but I know that I am always stopped for a reason. I just fully cooperate and go on my way after the officer assigns me the ticket. However if I were to refuse any of the officers commands I would probably end up on the evening news.
DeleteA computer can't also tell you if someone is lieing or not. I agree with your post Dena and Lucia, the world out there today has been racist and still is in some degree's. It's something that only the way the programmers put into the system to make it even seem racist even though it's only doing what it was programmed to do. Profiling usually has to do with the behavior of the criminal or the individual being profiled, dealing with their habits, or even why they did what they did. honestly as a world we have to put our differences to our side and not think of who has what or who has done what but look at the bigger picture finding the real culprit to the problem.
DeleteOn Criminal minds they put together a profile of what type of person it could be and yes color is always included, maybe not the basis but it is certainly a factor. Profiling is done by race whether we choose to see it or not.
ReplyDeleteThere is a huge difference in profiling and racial profiling. Racial profiling is coming to a set of conclusions based on what someone looks like. Profiling is taking facts that they have collected from a case and assessing standards as to social, economical and class a person would stem from. Using these tactics it can help eliminate people from a crime. I do however feel that we need to have stricter testing for civil servants to try and weed out those who do racial profile. Unfortunately we will never be able to eliminate the problem due to the fact that there will always be the human error factor.
ReplyDeleteIt does not always have to be racial profiling. Profiling is a way of narrowing things down. It is just one tool utilized when there are so many other things to be considered. Racial profiling is another thing completely. I'm sure many people have heard of the game CLUE. That is what you do to pick your criminal in the game. Yes all things created by human beings fail at some point. That is not to say profiling is 100%. But it certainly is a start.
ReplyDeleteI'm not understanding how the case of David Wiggins is considered profiling. He was picked out a line up by the 14 year old girl who said he looked familiar. The way I understand profiling to mean is making an examiniation based on characteristics. It's not fool proof.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jose Joaquin. People who have offended once are usuall suspected of offending again. Fair or unfair, this is one of the reasons citizens who abide by the laws do so. To avoid the "X on your back." How many people want to live next door to a sex offender or robber or a person who has commited any violent crime? Why? Because they may do it again. Always is not a word I would use to categorize this type of circumstance, but I would say "more likely."
ReplyDeleteNo Dena, my comment mentions profiling is a thing to keep in mind. Most of us, yourself included have voiced profiling can be a good thing. (Your comment 2/19/15) Even though you had a stipulation, you still do not over rule profiling as a tool. You still see some benefit. It's a very sad case if someone goes to jail based SOLELY on profiling.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stormy when she says people have been profiled in some kind of way. There is a fine line however between profiling and bias. Profiling is not judging.
ReplyDeleteI do not think this type of profiling is acceptable. Letting a computer decide who is dangerous to society doesn't make sense to me. If individuals commit crimes and break the law then I think the police have every right to watch over them. No computer can think like a human being, computers base those decisions on statistics. I do think that profiling people by their actions, what they wear, or how they act is acceptable in some cases. That is still not an accurate way to determine who will commit crimes and who will not.
ReplyDeleteI agree that computers do not think as rationally as humans do, but I do not believe that the police can concentrate their resources on certain individuals without the help of computer generated statistics. They need some sort of system to efficiently generate information that can be used to inform police of generalized hot spots or people who may be involved with those crimes. It would make it much harder for individuals to break the law and create an environment that keeps the population safe. If police use the information in a correct manner, I believe that law enforcement can become more accurate at determining potential criminals while quickly stopping criminal activities from happening.
DeleteThe computer is not a human being of course. The fact that the computer is not human is what makes it instrumental. The computer is standardized and set. That why it is a tool, not the judge and jury.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you colbie, but a computer is no use unless humans insert the information inside its memory to update information. Just like the profiling program, humans had to use their information to create the program and causing it work and think the way it does.
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ReplyDeleteI can agree with Ashley on the idea that profiling is a good way to start and narrow down a suspect. This may be a way that officers can have a hint on who to make contact with. For example, if a person is dressed in rags and is walking in a rich neighborhood without no sense of having a destination.. That could be labeled as suspicious. Convictions would be based on evidence and actions that were taken by a suspect. I think it works when officers use a probable cause when stopping a suspect. I believe there are times when police officers have to use profiling and patterns of behavior as a tool to find a suspect.
ReplyDeleteStereotyping is just another synonym of racism in most cases, like the one in the article for example. People tend to think that racism is over, when in reality is just camouflaged by stereotyping. Is not only that, the media tend to give people a different image, to the point where we see people the same way they are depicted on movies or T.V. The effect is that police tend to over react when encounter with someone that they think look like a criminal.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Many people are now seeing racism and stereotyping as a joke now. We are all one race: the human race.
DeleteIf the issue here is profiling by race, by focusing on the technology described in the article above, it is apparent that criminal records would be a better method of deciding which people to keep an eye out for. Would it be wrong for the to choose who to suspect by picking them out according to the color of skin? I think it would. This technology uses a method of profiling that is different than choosing by race, it is based upon criminal history. If racism is the wrong method for police to pick out who to suspect, then this method of profiling via criminal record will help eliminate the problem by creating more of a safe environment without jeopardizing the lives of innocent civilians due to an officer's misunderstandings such as poor judgment or racism.
ReplyDeleteReferring to the above article about criminal profiling technology: it would be wrong to ignore a database that provides information on the people around that have committed crimes and to what extent they are a criminal. How would that technology create a more unsafe environment? Some have argued this computer technology will not work better than the human.....the human has pulled the race card time and time again, before looking at any criminal records whatsoever. The computer system will help direct the police force in a manner that will help prevent the inhumane things that happen to people that fall victim to being judged. This technology will be especially beneficial to the citizens who have chosen not to play the role of a criminal. Furthermore, it will be widely unaccepted by anyone with a criminal history. Without a doubt, this technology is a better alternative than playing the guessing game, which has failed time and time again. The human will be just as much of a problem when it comes to profiling, whereas racism is a factor. Computers can be programmed precisely and as of today, the average human cop cannot.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to say there is no reason for a system that will profile people. It is easy to tell some people they shouldn't be worried about a police officer stopping them if they are not guilty. The problem is that things like racism, personality, and clothing will continue to influence an officer's decision until they know any better. These things will not quit influencing many police officers decisions today, tomorrow, this year, I mean I would like to hope it would happen as soon as possible but how is it possible? If the police force is going to continue to recruit people that are influenced by such factors, what is the harm in providing them something that gives them a better idea of what they should be focusing on (criminal offenses) instead of things like race, and clothing or hairstyle.
ReplyDeletePolice officers are wasting time by stopping these people that really shouldn't even be worried about being stopped. If an individual is innocent, but profiled anyways due to judgment, the cop may have never even suspected them had he checked their criminal history with this technology. Utilizing this type of technology cannot be a bad thing except for someone with a criminal history, who is not willing to talk about what they are doing when suspected. It can be a good thing for people of any area and people of any color. Regardless, no one should be singled out because of their color or the way they express themselves if they are not committing crimes. This computer technology can help do away with such issues. It will allow officers to better manage their poor judgment, and better their time-management skills creating an opportunity for a safe community.
ReplyDeleteI believe that profiling is one of the best ways that crime can be fought but it is also can be off sometimes. I think Profiling can be a great way for people to narrow down from a large group down to a smaller group of individuals which could help lead the search or guidance to the right profile. I like watching crime shows and one show in particular Criminal Minds is all about profiling, now it talks alot about how certain things that people do are defined in a certain way and can help point in the right way toward the criminal but sometimes even within the show that certain pro filers can be misleading. Profiling may be an effective tool to help the process of fighting crime but in the end it takes the hard evidence to prove that the criminals are even the guilty. Like minority report profiling was being used to find where the crimes were at by being observant and even defining who the people are. But the fact that they judged people before the crimes were even done means a trial of injustice and taking away their freedom to choose.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure that going to a persons house to say "We are watching you" will do any good. People today are not afraid of the police anymore. The guilty people that the police warned, now just got more carful of what they do. That computer with all that information enter in, will tell what the programmer wants it to say.
ReplyDeleteIt's like saying hey were going to give you a slap on the wrist and say this is your only warning. Where as before you know it's wrong and you'll pay the consequences for it. Our world has become more and more agile when it comes to people doing what they want because there is no fear anymore. So I agree with your post Billie we have come to a world where people are just taking the advantage to do whatever they want whenever they want without fear of the consequences. But profiling does help even find those criminals who aren't afraid of the big bad cops.
DeleteSo there is a White man, Mexican man, black man, Chinese man and Mixed man.
ReplyDeleteThree of these men are criminals, so they should be considered when trying to solve a crime. These men should not be considered based on their ethnicity, or where they live but on their previous behaviors.
Profiling should be used to fight if you have nothing to hide why get mad or offended when approached by an officer. There are two sides to this problem you have the officers who say they question or approach an individual because they feel they had a reason. You have people saying they feel they are approached by officers because of their race and the way they are dressed. If both sides would compromise and take a different attitude towards each other this wouldn’t be a problem which we see so often in the media. Police officers should be retrained and approach people in a more respectful way with still being cautious. In many circumstances we see an officer approach an individual and they are immediately questioned “Why did you stop me? You had no reason to stop me or why are you bothering me I am just minding my own business. The fact of the matter is that we are not going to be able to change the matter that we have been pulled over or stopped by an officer at this point your race or the way you are dressed are not going to make a difference, it is the attitude that you take towards the situation. There are circumstances where an officer will take an attitude that can be looked up as arrogant and disrespectful but it is a battle one cannot win and should fully cooperate if you don’t want to end up on the news. Profiling can be useful in certain circumstances
ReplyDeleteYou make a very good point Lucia. I too think that profiling should be used to fight crime. I think that if someone has a history of committing crimes then that person should not have a problem when perceived as a criminal. I do think that some officers are naturally racist and use "profiling" as a way to get around their racism.
DeleteI agree, it has to be a cooperation between both the population and law enforcement if this type of profiling system can be used effectively. I think it all depends on an individual's perspective on the situation and keeping an attitude that doesn't make the situation into something it isn't. The system is being used as a way of finding areas of criminal activity while pointing out those at high risk of being involved with crime. It is the responsibility of law enforcement to use this information to make accurate investigations of certain individuals and crime hot spots. They need to approach the people with respect and inform them of their situation in a decent manner. However, it is also up to the people to not view these actions as discriminate or racist because it is simply based on their surroundings and specific information that contributes to higher risks of crime occurring in their lives, not their skin color or race.
DeleteI agree, it has to be a cooperation between both the population and law enforcement if this type of profiling system can be used effectively. I think it all depends on an individual's perspective on the situation and keeping an attitude that doesn't make the situation into something it isn't. The system is being used as a way of finding areas of criminal activity while pointing out those at high risk of being involved with crime. It is the responsibility of law enforcement to use this information to make accurate investigations of certain individuals and crime hot spots. They need to approach the people with respect and inform them of their situation in a decent manner. However, it is also up to the people to not view these actions as discriminate or racist because it is simply based on their surroundings and specific information that contributes to higher risks of crime occurring in their lives, not their skin color or race.
DeleteI don't know enough about profiling to say it would work or it wouldn't work. However, I do know that although officers are trained in "fair profiling" that its not always used fairly.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your response, many times police does not treat people fairly. With today's technology it is easier to identify the corrupt and racist so called "peace makers".
DeleteAs I am sure we have all herd or seen on the news, there have been many cases where a police officer profiles a suspect on sight and acts upon their judgment based on their race. While it is sad that most of these cases are portrayed as being a race crime the truth is that the media portrays it as such. Many crimes involving officers and suspects of the same race occur but it seems like nobody cares. Then comes along a different one where it is of people of different races and people loose their minds. I kind of believe that profiling will not be as effective as many people think because it is all based on the decision of the officer.
DeleteI agree with you Sergio, many of the cases of an officer killing a race opposite to him is passed on by the news making it seem like the officer was racist. most of the time an officer had a reason of why he or she injured or shot a victim.
DeleteTo many people profiling would feel like discrimination, because only certain people are being profiled because of their background or their skin color. I find this type of profiling to be very helpful, I think this would help those cities that have very high crime rates. This could also protect our children from child predators and make our cities more safe and peaceful for the community and less worry for the people. Even though you have never been convicted of a violent crime, but you hang out with people that do then you should also be profiled, because maybe one day you will decide like them to commit a crime. I strongly agree with this type of profiling.
ReplyDeleteI would disagree with how profiling is like discrimination or even like that. Profiling is using short steps from the facts that are given to give a proximate guess of the object being searched for. In crime that usually means finding the criminal or the group who had done the horrible crime. It's not being discriminating when they use the criminals own culture or his own background history to learn more about him. So it's not being discriminating at all but rather discerning the facts of who the person in question is.
DeleteFrom what I know a profilers investigate by the characteristics of the crime and are lead on the person behaviors at the crime scene. But according to this article they based the profiler on investigating a heat list which made it seem like if they are only looking at the race of the criminal. For my opinion what the FBI does as in crime profilers I would say that it is a acceptable crime technique because they studied behavior of the criminal but placing the racism as this article mention no.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you daisy. The investigators are led on by the certain crimes that the person has commited. Sometimes this means that they have to profile them because it is somewhat necessary. They have records that they also keep to help them distinguish what types of people are likely to be tied to specific crimes. To them it might be that one race in a particular area could be more problematic then another and this is part of why they profile. While it could help with investigations it also sets a somewhat racist approach.
DeleteI agree as well because there as been too many mistakes of what profilers are there for. It's not like they just say hey because your this color you are part of this crime, it's more about how if a certain culture fits into a certain category then it's one step closer to the actual criminal. This article just makes it seem very racist when really it's just following the clues to who committed the crime.
DeleteI don't see anything wrong with profiling someone but do not target them for their race or in the area they live in. Profiling is the identification of specific characteristics of an individual committing a particular crime by a thorough systematic observational process and an analysis of the crime scene, the victim, the forensic evidence, and the known facts of the crime. The profiling technique has been used by behavioral scientists and criminologists to examine criminal behavior, and to evaluate as well as possibly predict the future actions of criminals.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your response, I think profiling is not bad but police have made it bad by just targeting a few races. Profiling needs to be fair to everyone that way crime can be controlled and communities will be safer.
DeleteRebeca,
DeleteI agree no one should be targeted by their race or by the place they live in. It should be fair for anyone. I don't know if they pick what places to search by places where people with low income live or where certain race lives or where most crimes accrue. Hopefully it by where most crimes happen.
If the burgeoning predictive program can be used to negate criminal activity from occurring, I don't see a problem with profiling an individual. I believe it is simply determined on how law enforcement chooses to use the data that they are given to tell whether it is unjustified or considered racist. The heat list is merely a suggestion for which certain people may have higher risks of being involved with criminal activity, it doesn't necessarily mean they will be in those types of situations however. I feel that the list should be used to give police a general idea of where to look for criminal activity, not to pin point specific individuals and harass those who have never been involved in any sort of crime.
ReplyDeleteThe law enforcing agencies and FBI have all been using profiling techniques for a very long time. It has helped them with many investigations and the capture of sought after criminals. While i do not agree that it is fair for many people to be deemed "possible criminals", i do believe that the actual capture of a criminal is more important that to think that you are being targeted based on your race.
ReplyDeleteYes, but many people seem to see this as being racist. It is not solely used for that purpose but for capturing criminals. Capturing someone who could potentially cause harm or has caused harm is a good way this is made effective.
DeleteI agree with you sergio because that is true most of the time the FBI captures the suspect by using the profiling techniques , and sometimes yeah they can mistake someone for something they are not but it's just part of the job.
DeleteThe law enforcing agencies and FBI have all been using profiling techniques for a very long time. It has helped them with many investigations and the capture of sought after criminals. While i do not agree that it is fair for many people to be deemed "possible criminals", i do believe that the actual capture of a criminal is more important that to think that you are being targeted based on your race.
ReplyDeleteI hear you Sergio, but you also have to realize that some profiling techniques may have nothing to do with race. Some techniques have everything to do with it. although it might seem unfair like you said it really does help catch criminals.
DeleteProfiling is a great way to reduce crime and make everybody's community safer. However, I believe it is racial by only targeting few races. Profiling should be fair and no matter in what neighborhood one lives in their should be profiling for everyone.
ReplyDeleteA crime can be committed by anyone either rich or poor. it is true that a lot of the crimes committed are by those who live in a low income community. But even if one has been put on the heat list it still should not give a police officers the right to come to your door and cause embarrassment by basically telling one that he or she is a future criminal.
ReplyDeleteJuan,
DeleteTrue, I'd be embarrassed and confused if a cop came to my door and told me that a computer predicted I would be a "future criminal". I'd ask the cop to ask the computer if it could predict the winning lottery numbers.
I do not believe that profiling is an acceptable form of fighting crime. It's an invasion of privacy. What happens when the computer makes an error and your name ends up on the list? It shouldn't target one race. Profiling should just be fair when it comes to any race.
ReplyDeleteBy profiling each individual based off their criminal history, there is less room for error when determining who to suspect. If race is such a problem, especially if focusing on one race in general, understand that by being able to use this computer technology, profiling has an opportunity to become less biased by race and more biased on criminal history. Which bias is more appropriate? Police are going to profile regardless. Ignoring this method of profiling is simply ignoring the problem of crime and misjudgment.
ReplyDeleteI do not agree that profiling is fair but nothing is fair. I don't see a problem with a computer saying that I had more of a chance of doing something than someone else. The person is not guilty all the way through. if they haven't done anything wrong then what is there to worry about?
ReplyDeleteDarrick,
DeleteTrue, If you have nothing to worry about why should it bother you, but at the sometime being watched 24/7 or close to time laps is a little scary.
Depenes on the profiling input. If only certain types of people are programmed into their "program" then it will only profile those people. Hell, I don't do anything wrong, but I be damned if I don't get nervouse when a police car rolls up behind me while I'm driving. Its just an instant reaction.
DeleteAnne, true I also don't do anything bad, but when a cop is driving by me or behind me i get nervous, and that goes for all the drivers around the cop because they all slow down. So profiling could back fire.
DeleteI can understand what your saying Anne-Marie but I think that the police officer that could be profiling is just doing his/her job. When you see a police officer you should feel safer but its just not the case anymore. It might seem like a crappy thing but honestly knowing that people who are doing wrong are being watched makes me feel a little more protected.
DeleteI hadn't heard of profiling until now, so this subject is new to me. It seems to me that profiling is way of scaring a person before he or she commit the crime. I strongly believe the people who are under control of this program and created this program are doing this for all the right reasons. This being said I also believe they violating a right of the common person. Hanni Fakhoury fears this will create "an environment where police can show up at anyone’s door at any time for any reason". I see why many would think that but that would all depend on the cop. Not all cops would use this to their advantage. I think these people are a little bit ahead of their time because their is no way to 100% predict a crime. The cops assigned to warn and watch the people that are most likely to do a crime could be out on duty or on call. I do believe these cops would have to be very lucky to stop a crime. Maybe in the future this will stop all crimes but not until they have a 100% way of knowing the future.
ReplyDeleteI do believe it also makes a "suspect" more nervous, thus making them get scared for no particular reason. Racial profiling is for potential violators. Most of the time it works, and most of the time it does not. Like you said, it is "lucky" to get a suspect.
DeleteYea Omar, in the end the cops would have to leave to are these people dumb enough to commit a crime while being watched. And if it the "suspect" never does anything, would it be appropriate to say that profiling was successful?
DeleteProfiling can be a good way to stop a crime from happening the reason being it's better to be safe and suspect someone is up to no good even if he means no crime than being the victim just because you didn't want to judge.
ReplyDeleteThe world its filled with people day after day profiling everyone. So i do think its a good technique to use when it comes to fighting a crime but also profiling can be risky and be called racism
ReplyDeleteErin,
ReplyDeleteprofiling is never good to identify people. Having a detail description of a person is one way, but profiling is another way. In the news you see so many people being accused of crimes they did not commit due to being profiled. Black and Brown Males are the biggest accuser's of being racially profiled and this is not right for anyone to be falsely accused.
I think that the profiling mentioned in the article is completely acceptable. I think that a computer can profile someone based on their previous actions and most of the time the computer will be correct. I do not think that police officers should profile because if that person is racist it can lead in another tragedy.
DeleteLuis, I have to agree with you. Furthermore, this technology has an opportunity to prevent tragedy. It would be more accurate to suspect someone because of criminal activity recorded versus suspecting them because of their race. People who complain about other types of profiling leading to the misperception of profiling in general, first must realize that this type of technology can prevent the death of another racially profiled individual who is completely innocent.
DeleteIt seems as if it is typical to think of profiling as a bad thing, which makes sense. It is ridiculous for one to understand that an officer may use race to profile, but still chooses to ignore a technology that will allow the officer to use something else. It is unreasonable to think they should do without the criminal profiling technology (which uses criminal records to profile). Criminal records are the listed criminal offenses that people have committed, not the color of people's skin. So which one will you argue is better to judge by? Neither? Well the race card will be pulled by officers time and time again. It is time for something that will help change that.
ReplyDeleteThe race card in today's society has become integrated into the media so therefore a large amount of the population will always use it. The problem is that cops use it too and that is not a good idea. I believe that by using the race card, certain police officers are prone to use more violence on a suspect and they could even cause death. By profiling someone, they place that individual in a dangerous position.
DeleteThis so-called "profiling" can bring about many quarrels and concerns. Though it may have, at certain points in time, captured criminals this is an unacceptable form of racism. Racial profiling will continue to exist regardless of what anyone says or does just because of the fact that stereotypes will forever exist as well. Profiling can be used as a filter and may sound like a good idea, but in the long run will cause a moral dilemma and a generation of unethical people.
ReplyDeleteThis so-called "profiling" can bring about many quarrels and concerns. Though it may have, at certain points in time, captured criminals this is an unacceptable form of racism. Racial profiling will continue to exist regardless of what anyone says or does just because of the fact that stereotypes will forever exist as well. Profiling can be used as a filter and may sound like a good idea, but in the long run will cause a moral dilemma and a generation of unethical people.
ReplyDelete