Racial Profiling of the Blacks by the Police 1

RACIAL PROFILING OF THE BLACKS BY THE POLICE

Student’s Name;

Course:

Institutional Affiliation:

Date:
 Racial Profiling of the Blacks by the Police 2

In Britain, black boys have long been profiled as criminals. According to research

conducted by The Independent, one out of four black teenage boys in the UK convicted of

homicide were handed lifetime sentence, unlike their white counterparts who would spend just

some time in jail for the same crime. It appears that differential treatment and racism of the

minority groups exists on an institutional level in Britain’s police forces (Welch, 2007, p. 278).

Black individuals are eight times more likely to be stopped and searched by police officers than

white people. Also, the police officers are likely to use more force with the blacks than the

whites. Racism by the police officers is apparent to members of the minority groups particularly

the blacks (Smith, 2013). Blacks report negative interactions with the police than the whites.

Therefore, black people have less contact with the police compared to other ethnic groups in the

UK. The negative interaction is likely to have a detrimental impact on the attitude of the black

people towards the police. According to Small (2013), black people are less willing to identify

culprits, give evidence in court, and are not willing to corporate.

2. Qualitative Approach

Qualitative research design is employed in this study to examine the experiences of black

people in the hands of the police officers to understand racial profiling in Britain. The qualitative

approach helps to explore social problems in individuals or groups. It seeks to comprehend the

experience of research participants in a given problem (Abrams & Marque, 2005). The focal

point of qualitative research is the experiences and perception of participants and how they make

sense of these experiences. Qualitative researchers study behaviour experiences of humans.

Qualitative inquiry is used in this study to describe, explain, and investigate the experiences,

attitudes, perceptions, and behaviours of black people when they come into contact with the

police. Unlike quantitative research, the qualitative study explores an issue in order to provide a
 Racial Profiling of the Blacks by the Police 3

deeper understanding (Farrall & Jason, 1999. P. 60). The quantitative approach could not be used

for this study because it mainly emphasizes on analysis of data and statistical description to

support the conclusion of the study. It might be challenging to record the experiences of black

people using quantitative design because this method is not sensitive to ethnic differences,

environment, health behaviour, and racism. Phenomenological research was selected for the

qualitative approach. It aims at describing what the participants have in common as they

experience a similar problem.

3. Process of interviewing

The interview consisted of 10 questions. Semi-structured open-ended, face to face

interview process that used closed questions was used to help understand the perspectives and

experience of participants. The interview studied the participants’ experiences, perspectives, and

attitudes about racial profiling.

Before the interviewing process, I obtained consent from the participants. The schedule

of the interview was based upon the availability of the participants and was conducted in public

places such as schools, shopping malls, restaurants, and parks. It was conducted on the

participants who could spare some time, and those who were in a hurry selected a convenient

time, date, and place. However, the participants had to be black teenagers who have encountered

the police officers, and between 18-25 years. The process was also voluntary for the participants.

The participants were informed about the details of the interview.

I informed the participants on the need to understand racial profiling among the minority

groups, mostly the black people who have been brutalized by the police. All of them were

welcoming and gave relevant answers to the questions asked.

 Racial Profiling of the Blacks by the Police 4

4. Ethical Consideration

The ethical guidelines according to the National research act of the university were

complied with. Informed consent is an essential factor in the contract between the participant and

researcher: therefore it was very important for this interview. Before the beginning of the

interview, all the participants had to give their consent. The nature and scope of the study were

explained to the participants. The participants were given the information concerning their

participation in activities that might affect their willingness to take part in the study such as the

limits of confidentiality and costs of reimbursement. The participants were informed that

participation was voluntary and they were free to withdraw from the study. The participants were

also free to ask any question and receive answers on different activities. They were also allowed

to judge whether the method of data storage would safeguard their confidentiality. Participants

were advised not to use identifying information to protect them from social injury. Their

responses to the questions asked were made anonymous, and they were given code numbers

instead. The names of the participants were linked to their code, and this information was kept

safely. Audio recordings and computer data would be deleted.

5. Reflection on the coding process

Interviews from the 10 participants transcribed, coded, and analyzed. The first five

interview transcripts were reviewed by two readers to identify important information. Their

notions were discussed and compared. The same process was repeated for the remaining five

interview transcripts until there was an agreement on concepts or themes. Then, we would go

back to the individual interviewee and look for consistency with each theme. Then a

determination on the extent the participants affirmed to a single or multiple aspects of the
 Racial Profiling of the Blacks by the Police 5

themes. This helped make a distinction among the participants. It also allowed the incorporation

of similarities and differences that came up among the interviewee. NVivo software was used to

create descriptive node tree diagrams that helped in the interpretation of comparative findings.

This also made sure that the derived contexts and themes demonstrated dependability, reliability,

and credibility.

6. Data Analysis

The data was transcribed into notes in an exercise book. I listened to the recordings and

transcribed the information in a notebook. For essay access, the transcript had time stamps. After

transcribing the data of each interviewee into a notebook, I listed to the audio recording to ensure

accuracy of data and corrected the mistakes. I prepared a table with two columns with the first

column with inductive category and the other with the responses of the participants. I looked at

the common themes and listed them down. Whenever a new theme was identified, a new code

was created. I had to restudy the data to ensure that the themes were clearer. The more I analyzed

the data, the more the themes become apparent. The initial code was continued until the themes

became apparent. Finally, I did the selective coding where the categories were redefined and

integrated for a theoretical model.

After coding, it was clear that racial profiling by law enforcement agencies is a problem

that needs to be addressed. In most cases, blacks are more likely to be characterized by the white

as violent, drug abusers, and more likely to engage in crime than other groups. The whites and

especially the police officers believe that blacks are more likely to be involved in crime than

other people (Bridges & Simpson, 2007, p. 350). Most of the participants reported that the police

officers use excessive force and abusive when doing their searches most especially when it is a
 Racial Profiling of the Blacks by the Police 6

black person been involved. At times the police seem not to be searching but to be humiliating

the black people. All the participants claim that they cannot rely on the police for protection

because they do not trust them.

Mark one of the participant said:

“ I just feel that the fact that the police know that they have authority over the civilians gives

them the power to intimidate people for no reason based on their colour. It is not a case of me

feeling safe; it is about me been cautious of the police officers. I don’t want to come into contact

with them. Because they have the authority, they can accuse you of anything.”

Martin also said;

“ I have never felt safer around the police. Instead of making us the young generation feel safe,

they came into our houses accusing us of been criminals and drug abusers. They even plant

evidence that was not initially there. They even break the door to your house and can even

destroy things in your home in search of evidence.”

Most of the participants also felt that the number of stops and searches should be reduced and

fair to all people. They reported that it is only individuals from minority groups that have to go

through this kind of mistreatment. The police mostly search the blacks and even accuse them of

violating the law.

Williams reported:

“In most cases, it is only us the black boys who are stopped and searched. In our neighbourhood,

you hear things like; a young boy was stopped and searched by the police, a young black man

was shot, a young black man did this or that. A lot of people are stopped and searched for the
 Racial Profiling of the Blacks by the Police 7

wrong reason. However, these cases are not prevalent with the Whites. Just like me, most of my

black peers in our college believe that the individuals from the minority groups and especially

the blacks are discriminated against.”

Also, most of them felt that their communication with the police needs to be improved.

Policemen should treat all people equally regardless of their ethnicity. Community policing

should be improved.

7. Discussions

Criminals’ racial stereotyping has been an unfortunate and enduring feature of Britons

culture. The profiling of blacks as criminals has been increasing day in day out. In the past few

years, the fear of black citizens living in the UK on criminal victimization has become a central

point of criminological debate and investigations (Cole and Maisuria, 2007, p.100). The minority

groups that are disproportionately targeted by the police are equally disproportionately involved

in criminal activities. Again, the law procedures by the police do not lead to the real perpetrators

of the crimes been caught. Most of the minority groups end up in prisons for crimes they did not

commit.

According to Ethnicity fact and figures of the UK government, there were 277, 378

incidences of stop and search in Wales and England in the financial year 2017/18 at the rate of 5

per 1000 people (Runnymede Perspective, 2010). Black people were nine times likely to be

stopped and searched by police officers than the whites in the same year (Weitzer, 2005, p.

1010). London’s Metropolitan Police was the police with the highest number of search and stop

incidences, with the black people recording the highest number. In Spain, it has been reported

that people from minority groups are frequently stopped and searched on the assumptions that
 Racial Profiling of the Blacks by the Police 8

they are criminals or irregular immigrants. In France, police have also been reported to harass

Romans in the informal settlements by destroying their property, seizing their belongings, and

arbitrary detention. Discriminatory behaviour has become acceptable because of the prevailing

attitudes and views in society (Jefferson & Walker, 1993, p. 257). Therefore, the stereotype and

attitudes of the police are a reflection of the society they serve.

Many people believe that during the searches, police disrespect, belittle, and insult

people based on their skin colour. The police must protect people against crime and motivated

discrimination. When carrying out their duties, police officers are not allowed to discriminate

citizens. Again, black people are likely to be shot by the police than their white counterparts

(Williams & Anderson, 2007, p. 346). Therefore, minority groups living in Europe and

especially black people are victims of racial discrimination by law enforcement agencies.

Conclusion

This study explored the experiences of black people in the hands of law enforces in most

countries in Europe. The personal stories by the participants showed that black people are

profiled by the police, the stops and searches by the police targets particular individuals, and

most people do not feel safe around the police.

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Bibliography

Abrams, D., Hogg, M.A., Marques, J.M. (Eds.) (2005. The Social Psychology of Exclusion and

Inclusion. New York: Psychology Press

Bridges, G. S., Crutchfield, R. D., & Simpson, E. E. (2007). Crime, social structure and criminal

punishment: White and nonwhite rates of imprisonment. Social Problems, 34, 345-360.

Cole, M. and Maisuria, A., 2007. ‘Shut the f*** up,’‘ you have no rights here’: Critical Race

Theory and Racialisation in post-7/7 racist Britain. Journal for Critical Education Policy

Studies, 5(1), pp.94-120.

Farrall, Stephen, and Jason Ditton. 2009. Improving the Measurement of Attitudinal Responses:

An Example from a Crime Survey. Social Research Methodology 2, no. 1:55-68.

Runnymede Perspectives. 2010. Ethnic Profiling: The Use of ‘Race’ in UK Law Enforcement

Small S. (2013) Police and People in London, vol 2, A Group of Young Black People, Policy

Studies Institute, London.

Smith D. (2013) Police and People in London, vol 1 A Survey of Londoners, Policy Studies

Institute, London.

Weitzer R, Tuch SA. 2005. Racially biased policing: Determinants of citizen perceptions. Social

Forces. 83(3):1009–1030

Welch, K., 2007. Black criminal stereotypes and racial profiling. Journal of contemporary

criminal justice, 23(3), pp.276-288.

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Williams DR, Yu Y, Jackson JS, and Anderson NB. 2007. Racial differences in physical and

mental health socio-economic status, stress and discrimination. Journal of Health

Psychology :335–351.
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Interview Questions

1. As a young person, do you think the police help you feel safe?
2. Do you think you can count on the police for protection?
3. Where does your sense of protection come from if you cannot rely on the police?
4. Do you think the police target a particular group in their operations?
5. How does it feel to be stopped and searched?
6. Do the police explain their reasons for the stops and searches?