Profiling and Bias-Based Policing
Profiling is presuming that someone is involved in criminal activity based on who they are rather than what they have done. Profiling entire communities or groups of people based on stereotypes or beliefs perpetuates unconstitutional and discriminatory policing practices, including disparities in stops, searches, arrests, and uses of <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="
Force
The application of physical strength for coercive purposes. Police use of force can range from the use of hands, legs, batons, or other equipment, including vehicles, handcuffs, restraints, pepper spray, tear gas, water cannons, canines, Tasers, and firearms.
">force.
Profiling and Bias-Based Policing
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Key Challenges
Racial and ethnic bias:
In the United States, Black, <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Latinx
Latinx is a gender-neutral term used to refer to people of Central and South American descent.
">Latinx, South Asian, Asian, Arab, and Indigenous people are routinely racially, ethnically, and religiously profiled by police officers. In some communities, more than 80 percent of people subject to traffic and/or street stops are Black or Latinx, even though these groups make up a much smaller percentage of the general population. Profiling of Muslim, Arab, South Asian, and Middle Eastern people has been documented in the "Global War on Terror."
Criminalization of everyday activities:
In some jurisdictions, Black and Brown people, particularly Black and Latinx youth, are disproportionately ticketed for "broken windows" offenses, such as riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, being in a park after dark, <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Loitering
Standing, hanging out, or lingering in a public place. Many jurisdictions have statutes or ordinances against loitering that give police the power to arrest someone who refuses to vacate the space.
">loitering (including "loitering for the purposes of prostitution"), eating or drinking in public, making "unreasonable noise" or engaging in "disorderly conduct."
Gender and sexual orientation bias:
Police officers often deny protection to women, <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="LGBTQ
Acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning.
">LGBTQ people, and <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Gender Nonconforming
A term used to describe people whose gender expression is different from conventional expectations of masculinity and femininity.
">gender nonconforming people who survive intimate partner violence, <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Profiling
The act of generalizing a person or group of people based on personal attributes. In the policing context, profiling refers to the act of presumingthat a person or group of people are involved in criminal activity. Profiling can be based on intentional discrimination or widely held biases and beliefs that certain types of people are more likely to break the law or do harm than others.
">profiling them as perpetrators of violence rather than targets, or holding them responsible for abuse they and their children experience. As a result, police officers sometimes fail to properly respond to allegations of sexual assault or intimate partner violence, <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Arrest
The act of seizing a person to take into custody. An arrest must be based on probable cause.
">arrest them under "mandatory arrest" laws, or criminalize them for exercising their right to self-defense.
Criminalization of people experiencing homelessness:
Police officers often discriminatorily ticket and arrest people based on their housing status, and profile people who are homeless for "broken windows" offenses like sleeping or urinating in public or loitering.Religious intolerance:
Freedom of religion is a cherished ideal in the United States, but this right is not always respected or protected. People who practice non-Christian religions are often profiled — and sometimes criminalized. This is especially true of Muslim and Sikh people, who can be suspected of terrorism — and treated as such.Disability bias:
People with disabilities experience discriminatory policing practices, such as excessive use of force and failure to properly respond or provide necessary resources (e.g., independent non-law enforcement interpreters for people who are Deaf or hard of hearing, or materials in braille for people who are blind), during police interactions. People experiencing mental health crises or who require accommodations so that officers can effectively communicate with them may be perceived as resisting, failing to immediately comply, or engaging in erratic or atypical behaviors. Officers may see them as being aggressive, threatening, or noncompliant, and may respond with disproportionate and sometimes lethal force.Collaboration with immigration authorities:
While law enforcement agencies often collaborate with federal authorities regarding maters of public safety (e.g., terrorism, drug and human trafficking), few have interest in or resources to devote to civil immigration matters, such as deportation proceedings. The Final Report of the President's Task <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Force
The application of physical strength for coercive purposes. Police use of force can range from the use of hands, legs, batons, or other equipment, including vehicles, handcuffs, restraints, pepper spray, tear gas, water cannons, canines, Tasers, and firearms.
">Force on 21st Century Policing recommends that federal immigration enforcement be decoupled from routine local policing for civil enforcement and nonserious crime.
Making Change
Expand the definition of profiling.
Department policy should ban profiling of all members of targeted communities. Department leaders should, at a minimum, prohibit profiling and discriminatory policing based on the following categories, as well as any others found to be relevant in a specific community: actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Gender
The socially constructed set of characteristics typically associated with a “gender binary” in Western-dominant culture or two dominantly accepted gender expressions of masculinity and femininity. Many cultures, including cultures indigenous to the United States, recognize more than two genders. Gender is not defined by biological sex characteristics.
">gender, <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Gender Identity
A person’s internal, deeply held sense of their gender. Unlike gender expression, gender identity is not visible to others and can shift over time.
">gender identity, <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Sexual Orientation
A scientifically accurate term for an individual’s enduring physical, romantic, or emotional attraction to other people.
">sexual orientation, age, disability, familial status, immigration status, veteran status, health status, housing status, economic status, occupation, proficiency with the English language, or other personal characteristics.
Ban profiling in all law enforcement activities.
Profiling bans must apply to all discretionary decisions by law enforcement, including decisions to stop, investigate, question, search, arrest, respond to a call for service, seize property, initiate <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Asset Forfeiture
A civil proceeding to permanently seize property that has been used for criminal activity.
">asset forfeiture, or charge an individual with a crime.
Profiling bans should include discriminatory impacts in policies.
Profiling bans should also prohibit law enforcement decisions that have a discriminatory impact on particular groups of people and communities, regardless of officers' or departments' specific intent. Bias-free policies should include specific examples of prohibited conduct. It can be helpful to include specific examples of less commonly discussed types of prohibited profiling.Ban reliance on perceived identity.
Department leaders should explicitly prohibit police officers from engaging in any form of profiling or discriminatory policing, including that based on who they think people are. For instance, many Sikhs wear turbans as a form of religious observance, but people often presume they are Muslim and profile them as such. This is a form of discrimination, even though the victim does not identify with the targeted group. Similarly, an officer's belief that an Indigenous person is Latinx or that a straight man is gay constitutes profiling. The act of profiling is wrong, even if the conclusion is correct. Profiling bans should prohibit officers from acting on actual or perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, familial status, immigration status, veteran status, health status, housing status, economic status, occupation, proficiency with the English language, or other personal characteristics.Ban reliance on prohibited categories.
Department leaders should prohibit officers from relying on identity to any degree, unless they are looking for someone based on a specific, reliable, and credible description of a person engaged in an activity at a specific time and location that includes information beyond the prohibited characteristics.Require training for interacting with specific groups.
To reduce <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Bias-Based Policing
Any action a police officer takes that is influenced by bias (explicit or implicit), prejudice, or discrimination.
">bias-based policing, department leaders should provide officers with specific guidance and training on how to respect the rights of particular groups of people — such as people of color, women, gender nonconforming people, LGBTQ people, youth, undocumented immigrants, people with limited English proficiency, people with disabilities, religious and ethnic groups, low-income people, people experiencing homelessness, and other groups as relevant to your community.
Ban questions about sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status.
Department leaders should prohibit officers from asking people about their sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status. Only if a person voluntarily provides information regarding their sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status, and it is related to the incident (e.g., a potential hate crime), may officers record the information.Require supervisors’ approval for discretionary enforcement activities.
Some enforcement activities, such as arresting people for disturbing the peace or resisting orders, involve a large degree of officer discretion. To ensure these actions are not influenced by bias, departments should require that supervisors be notified and approve the arrest before it takes place.Ensure accountability.
Departments should train supervisors and officers to detect, manage, and report profiling and discriminatory policing. Communities, organizations, and oversight agencies must be able to hold officers and department leaders accountable for violating profiling bans by filing a complaint or a lawsuit. When complaints are filed, supervisors must investigate the matter in a thorough, impartial, and timely manner.Collect and publish data.
Departments should collect, analyze, and regularly make public aggregate, anonymous data about the race, ethnicity, age, and gender of people who are stopped, searched, and arrested. Demographic data should be based on the officer’s perception of a person's demographic characteristics (e.g., race or age) before and after the encounter because it may change over the course of proceedings as information comes to light. Police officers should not ask a person about their sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status. Only if a person voluntarily provides information regarding their sexual orientation, gender identity, or immigration status, and it is related to the incident (e.g., a potential hate crime), may officers record the information.Identify and investigate hate crimes and incidents.
Hate crimes and incidents have increased in recent years. Police departments should encourage the reporting of hate crimes and incidents, and properly investigate them when they occur. This involves reaching out to potentially targeted communities to explain the reporting and investigation processes.
How to Advocate for Change
Change the law.
Pressure your legislators to pass a state or local law with an expansive ban against discriminatory policing that includes mechanisms — such as a <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Private Right of Action
An individual’s right to sue a police officer or department.
">private right of action — for individuals and organizations to hold officers and departments who violate the ban accountable.
Organize around a specific incident.
If profiling or discriminatory policing led to a <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Critical Incident
An individual incident of excessive or lethal force or police misconduct. Individuals and organizations promoting police reform often use critical incidents to put pressure on officials to make necessary changes to policing policies and practices as well as to increase accountability and oversight.
">critical incident of excessive or lethal force, pressure your legislators, your mayor and/or governor, and the chief of your local police department to pass or strengthen policies and laws on bias-based policing.
Build a campaign.
Build a <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Campaign
A planned activity, or set of activities, carried out over a period of time with the purpose of achieving social or political change.
">campaign based on the profiling issue at hand. Make sure to reach out to a range of communities experiencing profiling and discriminatory policing who can create a <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Coalition
A group of several organizations who share an interest in a particular issue and come together to work on that issue.
">coalition structure.
Build a coalition.
Be creative when building your campaign and include community members with diverse skill sets, interests, identities, and backgrounds. <span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Coalition
A group of several organizations who share an interest in a particular issue and come together to work on that issue.
">Coalition members that work on the campaign can include clergy, grassroots activists, academics, attorneys, students, and artists — or anyone committed to the cause.
Encourage bias-free recruitment practices.
Communities should support and encourage departments in creating cultures of equity and inclusion that prohibit racial and gender bias, and in building diverse workforces.Press for proper investigation and discipline.
Community members and organizations can advocate for change by pressuring civilian oversight boards to properly investigate complaints of discriminatory practices and by pressuring departments to mete out swift discipline when warranted.Organize around the release of data.
The public release of data documenting police profiling and bias-based policing is a good time to press legislators, the mayor and/or governor, and the police chief to pass or strengthen a policy or law on bias-free policing. If your law enforcement agency does not collect or release data, demand that they do so, or start a community-based data collection project.
Talking Points
Police officers have a duty to uphold constitutional rights and federal laws.
Federal laws prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, and gender. Many federal, state, and local laws, constitutions, and charters prohibit discrimination against these and other protected classes (e.g., sexual orientation, disability, and housing status). A ban on profiling is inconsistent with the oath police officers take when joining a police department.Profiling bans make everyone safer.
Antidiscrimination and profiling bans make communities safer, because law enforcement activities based on stereotypes, personal beliefs, and biases (as opposed to actual evidence) do not prevent violence or increase public safety.All people deserve protection.
Although racial and ethnic profiling is the most commonly discussed form of discriminatory policing, police officers also profile based on national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, familial status, immigration status, veteran status, health status, housing status, economic status, occupation, proficiency with the English language, and other personal characteristics.Everyone is entitled to the equal protection of the law — and equal treatment by law enforcement officers!
Overcoming Opposition
The Opposition:
“Officers are just acting on data that show higher rates of crime in particular communities. Profiling bans keep police officers from going where crime is and focusing on the most likely suspects."Overcoming the Opposition:
“<span aria-describedby="tt" class="glossaryLink " data-cmtooltip="Arrest
The act of seizing a person to take into custody. An arrest must be based on probable cause.
">Arrest rates are often higher in communities of color and low-income communities because that is where enforcement is focused — not because crime rates are necessarily higher in those communities. All communities have crime. We cannot criminalize entire communities and then use high arrest data to justify overpolicing certain communities, profiling, and other forms of discriminatory policing. There is no evidence that profiling and overpolicing reduce crime. We do know that these activities violate civil and human rights, erode trust and confidence in police, and decrease public safety."
The Opposition:
“Profiling bans get in the way of officers doing their jobs and fighting crime.”Overcoming the Opposition:
“Profiling bans do not stop officers from responding to calls for help or from pursuing people based on specific descriptions. Instead, they make policing more effective because they require descriptions of individuals suspected of involvement in specific activities rather than generic characteristics like race or religion, which typically produce no evidence of crime.”
External Resources
NAACP Model Profiling Bill
The city of Seattle’s policy on racial profiling
Model policy on interacting with LGBTQ people
Model policy on police sexual harassment and violence against members of the public
The city of Frederick, Maryland’s policy on interacting with the Deaf and hard of hearing
Information on interacting with the Deaf and hard of hearing
Model policy for interacting with people with limited English proficiency
For resources on sanctuary city policies see: https://www.ilrc.org/sites/default/files/resources/rise_of_sanctuary-lg-20180201.pdf
For more information on PERF’s report on Civil Rights Investigations of Local Police see: https://www.policeforum.org/assets/docs/Critical_Issues_Series/civil%20rights%20investigations%20of%20local%20police%20-%20lessons%20learned%202013.pdf
For more information on fair and impartial policing visit: https://fipolicing.com/
For more information on the Center for Policing Equity’s national database visit: http://policingequity.org/national-justice-database/
