English

Noun

racial profiling ‎(usually uncountable, plural racial profilings)

1. (public policy, law enforcement) The practice (usually considered discreditable), by some police and other officials, of treating members of certain racial groups as more likely to be involved in criminal or other antisocial behavior than members of other racial groups.
   • 1999, Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 106th Congress, First Session, vol. 145, part 5, p. 6720 (Google preview):

     This legislation represents a substantial step toward ending an insidious form of discrimination that is plaguing African-American and Hispanic drivers on our roadways — racial profiling.

   • 2006, Grace-Edward Galabuzi, Canada's Economic Apartheid, ISBN 9781551302652, p. 192 (Google preview):

     A recent report on the Ontario government's safe schools policy in the Toronto district school board addressed the issue of racial profilings in the educational system, especially with regard to the disproportionate impact of suspensions and expulsions on racialized students.

   • 2011 June 15, "Quotes of the Day," Time (retrieved 10 Sept 2013):

     A special unit of the TSA at Newark Liberty International Airport, trained to detect suspicious behavior, reportedly earned the nickname "Mexican hunters" for racial profiling.

   • 2013 April 2, Sven Hultberg Carlsson, "Does Sweden have a racial profiling problem?," Christian Science Monitor (retrieved 10 Sept 2013):

     A recent campaign by Stockholm police to crack down on illegal immigrants by racial profiling at the city's subway turnstiles has formed the backdrop to a reignited debate about racism.

Related terms

• racial profile
• racial profiler

See also

• racial discrimination

References

• racial profiling at OneLook Dictionary Search