ACLU report claims frequent racial profiling in R.I., U.S.
1:16 PM Tue, Jun 30, 2009 | Permalink
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Widespread racial profiling by law enforcement agents "continues unabated" in Rhode Island and remains pervasive throughout the United States, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Rights Working Group. Government policies have led to the "disproportionate stopping and searching of racial minorities," according to the report, which was submitted to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU is one of 22 affiliates that contributed to the report. The Rhode Island section cites analyses of three years' worth of traffic stops data from all police departments in Rhode Island, which found a pattern "of racial and/or ethnic differences" among motor vehicle stops and searches. It also cites problems stemming from Governor Carcieri's executive order in 2008 that includes encouraging local police departments to enforce certain aspects of immigration law. Community groups say the order "has only exacerbated the problem of racial profiling in the state," according to the analysis provided by the Rhode Island affiliate of the ACLU. Steven Brown, executive director of the Rhode Island ACLU affiliate, said the report "is valuable in documenting the widespread nature of racial profiling throughout the country." And while Rhode Island is not unique, "the report should serve as a clarion call to public officials in our state about the importance of taking decisive action on this critical issue." The full report is available online at the ACLU's Web site.
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Did you really think they would say anything else! They have to keep their jobs.
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Will someone please inform the ACLU that the out-of-wedlock birthrate in the inner city is over 70%. Then you can explain to them that 75% of incarcerated males in the USA were raised without their biological father. Is this math starting to get your attention yet? The inner city is predominately minority and our prison population is, tragically, largely made up of racial/ethnic minorities. Stopping racial profiling AIN'T gonna stop the crime problems emanating from our inner cities! CHILDREN NEED THEIR FATHERS! STOP CELEBRATING SINGLE MOTHERHOOD AND IMMORALITY!
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Criminals commit crimes, it doesn't matter what sex, race or creed they are. If they happend to all be WASPs then they would get pulled over more. Shall we try to enlist more WASPs to commit crimes so that these reports appear more ballanced?
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I don't know how the numbers play out statewide but I'm going by where I live in Providence.
There are more caucasians than any SINGLE minority.
When you add up the divisions of minorities,Asian, Hispanic and African American their total number outnumbers the caucasians.
If the sum total of 'minorities' is the majority of the population in areas with high arrest ratios the numbers are playing to the law of averages.
When I was in my teens and early 20's and had the obligatory long hair of the 70's and 80's I got stopped plenty. I've had my car strip searched several times. There's no arrest record. Do you know why?
I wasn't doing anything to get arrested for.
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Well said Don. Cause and effect. Stop or cure the cause and there will be no effect. Stop feeding the system of unwed mothers and babies. More mouths to feed taxes the rest of us and contributes to the crime rate period.
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