This is why we Profile

[Black Dog]

I would like to point something out since this thread is about profiling.

Correct profiling of criminal suspects is a useful and fairly accurate tool used by law enforcement to head crime off at the pass. The problem is not that race can and is part of a profile. The problem is that such a thin line exists between legitimate profiling and profiling based solely on race.

I don't know how to fix it, or think it should at this point even be fixed. I do know that profiling does work, but we need to be very watchful of those who perform this duty for our safety.

I think Zimmerman, did indeed profile Martin... It was dark and raining with an unknown person who appeared to be looking into houses after a series of burglaries. Was Martin just trying to stay out of the rain? I think using Occam's razor this was probably the case. Zimmerman made the right call in my opinion on the profile. It was not based solely on race according to the evidence. This is the correct way to profile.

It's just damn sad that is escalated into something it should not have been.

 

[MadLib]

Only if you dressed and acted like one.......

So you don't want profiling to be racial, but instead behavioral?

 

[OscarB63]

So you don't want profiling to be racial, but instead behavioral?

race is an important part of a profile. by including race in a criminal profile you can eliminate a large % of the population from consideration, saving both time and resources.

if the perp is white...that eliminates around 30% of the pop from the pool of suspects
if the perp is black...that eliminates around 87% of the pop from the pool of suspects
if the perp is an american indian...that eliminates around 99.1% of the population from the pool of suspects

 

[MadLib]

race is an important part of a profile. by including race in a criminal profile you can eliminate a large % of the population from consideration, saving both time and resources.

if the perp is white...that eliminates around 30% of the pop from the pool of suspects
if the perp is black...that eliminates around 87% of the pop from the pool of suspects
if the perp is an american indian...that eliminates around 99.1% of the population from the pool of suspects

Of course. If witnesses say or cameras show that the perpetrator is of a certain race, then the cops have a better idea of who to look for. The profiling I'm talking about is when, all other things being equal, the police assume that someone is a gangster/perpetrator/criminal because of his race.

 

[Caine]

I would like to point something out since this thread is about profiling.

Correct profiling of criminal suspects is a useful and fairly accurate tool used by law enforcement to head crime off at the pass. The problem is not that race can and is part of a profile. The problem is that such a thin line exists between legitimate profiling and profiling based solely on race.

I don't know how to fix it, or think it should at this point even be fixed. I do know that profiling does work, but we need to be very watchful of those who perform this duty for our safety.

I think Zimmerman, did indeed profile Martin... It was dark and raining with an unknown person who appeared to be looking into houses after a series of burglaries. Was Martin just trying to stay out of the rain? I think using Occam's razor this was probably the case. Zimmerman made the right call in my opinion on the profile. It was not based solely on race according to the evidence. This is the correct way to profile.

It's just damn sad that is escalated into something it should not have been.

I posted my theory of it in another thread, but it boils down to this.

Yes, recent history of burglary trends in the area. Burglary is usually a tool of drug addicts to obtain funds for their habit. Recent arrestees caught in the neighborhood for such activity were young black males.
With that said.
Trayvon Martin had a hoodie on and was talking on a blue tooth device... which couldn't be seen due to a hoodie.
When people talk on the phone, often they gesture with their hands out of strange habit.... people high on drugs talk to themselves. Draw said conclusion.
Trayvon Martin didn't actually live in the area, and may or may not have known the area very very well, add in talking on the phone and he may not have been paying much attention to where he was going. Not taking a direct route could be viewed as suspicious behavior. Especially if he was looking around at houses to figure out where he had wandered to. (I have literally wandered around on the porch talking to my brother on the phone and found myself looking at the mailbox with no recollection of having walked there). Especially if he was trying to hide from the rain during this.
Trayvon Martin noticed George Zimmerman observing him. It is possible he ran because of being spooked about some dude checking him out. George Zimmerman noticed that Trayvon saw him observing him then running. What do shady crooks do when they see the police or others observing them? They run. Draw said conclusion.

In this theory, it is possible that George could have been correct based on what he observed to believe Trayvon as suspicious while Trayvon had not actually been doing anything wrong.

 

[Caine]

So you don't want profiling to be racial, but instead behavioral?

It already is behavioral.

But, yes.

 

[Caine]

Of course. If witnesses say or cameras show that the perpetrator is of a certain race, then the cops have a better idea of who to look for. The profiling I'm talking about is when, all other things being equal, the police assume that someone is a gangster/perpetrator/criminal because of his race.

That is called ARBITRARY profiling, and its expressly forbidden by police.

 

[OscarB63]

Of course. If witnesses say or cameras show that the perpetrator is of a certain race, then the cops have a better idea of who to look for. The profiling I'm talking about is when, all other things being equal, the police assume that someone is a gangster/perpetrator/criminal because of his race.

yeah...never seen that happen. not saying it doesn't or hasn't...just that I've never seen it.

 

[niff]

Is that because of their blackness, or other characteristics that blacks are more likely to have than whites? In order to be right about profiling based on race you have to show that race was the factor that actually determines a higher percentage of these types of crimes.

Try these on for size: The Black-White Test Score Gap
Race and intelligence - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black-White IQ Differences
Why do black people deny their iq is lower than white people? - Topix
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/forum1/message1850518/pg1