Policing Minority Groups: Racial Profiling and its Consequences. A Comparison between New York City and The Hague.

Abstract

Racial profiling happens because certain stereotypes are associated with different ethnic and religious groups. American police officers often associate African-Americans with a higher crime rate and chance of violence, whereas Dutch police officers are more likely to associate someone of Moroccan heritage with criminal activity than someone of Dutch origin. Racial profiling consciously, and subconsciously, ‘helps’ police officers to efficiently analyze their surroundings. Police officers often feel that their stereotypes are confirmed due to earlier experiences with people of a certain ethnic or racial group. The consequence of this is that their lack of listening to local minority groups created distrust between the police and the community. Racial profiling and the policing policies ruined the community-police relationship. This trust has to be rebuilt from scratch, something that can only be done by listening to the concerns of everyone in the local communities, and by making sure that both police forces become representative of their local community again.