What Is Racial Profiling?

As a follow-up to the post "Thoughts On Racial Profiling," I thought I would try to find what constitutes racial profiling. My web search revealed some interesting nuances, as well as some common feelings expressed by victims of racial profiling. In this post I will look at the simple question, "What Is Racial Profiling?"

Until the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States, racial profiling was most commonly used to describe what was jokingly described as being arrested while doing some normal public thing and being black. The most common example was DWB (driving while black or brown). Following 9/11 the focus turned to whether the singling out of Middle Eastern/Asian people qualified as racial profiling and is it appropriate to do so for security reasons. My first stop in search of a true definition is the American Civil Liberties Union.

The ACLU defines racial profiling as "any police or private security practice in which a person is treated as a suspect because of his or her race, ethnicity, nationality or religion." The definition goes on to explain how racial profiling takes place when one of these characteristics is the reason for police action as opposed to evidence of criminal behavior.

Amnesty International defines racial profiling as occurring "when race is used by law enforcement or private security officials, to any degree, as a basis for criminal suspicion in non-specific investigations." The page goes on to say racial profiling is a threat to national security.

I suspect any definition of racial profiling will sound similar to these definitions. The issue boils down to probable cause, or lack there of.

Now with these definitions in hand, which of the following cases is a result of racial profiling?

Store clerks report Middle Eastern men who buy several disposable phones.
Black man picked up by police because he is black.
"Black Book" kept with pictures of police and civilians.
Minister stopped after leaving store