Racism Versus Professionalism: Claims and Counter-Claims About Racial Profiling

• NCJ Number: 227223
• Journal: Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice Volume: 51 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2009 Pages: 199-226
• Author(s): Vic Satzewich; William Shaffir
• Date Published: April 2009
• Length: 28 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: French; English
• Country: Canada

Annotation

In the face of convincing objective evidence that minority groups in Canada are both under-policed as crime victims and over-policed as potential perpetrators of crime, this study examined why 18 police officers interviewed for the current study insisted that they did not engage in racial profiling in the performance of their duties.

Abstract

"Racial profiling" occurs when law enforcement or security officials "consciously or unconsciously" subject individuals at any location to heightened scrutiny based solely or in part on race, ethnicity, Aboriginality, place of origin, ancestry, or religion, or on stereotypes associated with any of these factors, rather than on objectively reasonable grounds for suspecting that the individual is implicated in criminal activity (Tanovich 2006:13). Informal conversations were conducted with Canadian police officers in the Hamilton Police Service. Based on these interviews, this study identified three general ways in which police officers neutralize and deflect allegations that they, or their colleagues, engage in racial profiling. These are called "intolerance of intolerance," the "discourse of multiculturalism," and the "discourse of blaming the victim." These deflection strategies were used by both minority and nonminority officers. "Intolerance of intolerance" refers to the belief among officers that their agency's management and training policies emphasize "intolerance toward intolerance." The "discourses of multiculturalism" pertain to the increased hiring of officers of minority races and an acceptance of multiculturalism in Canadian society that counters racism. The "discourse of blaming the victim" involves the argument that those who complain of racial profiling are attempting to divert attention from their law violations. In attempting to reconcile the existence of racial profiling with officers' convictions that it does not occur, this study argues that police occupational subculture provides police with an embedded and convincing deflection rhetoric for denying that racial profiling occurs. 50 references