Blog 25

Even in a professional field, such as law enforcement, stereotypes are present.  Officers use evidence and information about an offender to determine their behavior and their actions.  They need to understand how someone will act in order to predict their behavior.  Although this may not be considered a negative effect of stereotyping, it is still a form a stereotyping.  They are basing their decisions on the preconceptions they may have.  But at the same time, officers may start using their own personal judgments when determining the innocence of an offender. Whether it is intentional or not, police may use personal bias in their line of work.  This bias may cause them to make assumptions about a group of people before they actually find evidence and jump to conclusions.  Although their intentions may be good, it can cause some groups to feel discriminated.  In the article Racial Profiling in the Police Subculture, the author says, “Over a long period of time, negative experiences such as racial profiling can lead to specific ethnic groups’ losing confidence in the police” (Chan 75).  Although racial profiling can be beneficial at times, it usually creates more problems.  When a group is discriminated and singled out, they begin to feel as though they are being targeted and stop believing in the police.  If a group loses confidence in the police, they will begin to disregard authority and lose respect for them.  Police officers would have a much harder time controlling a community that does not respect them.  This area could then become disorderly, which could affect the rest of the community as well.  Criminal profiling is an effective law enforcement tactic, but it should not include racial or stereotypical opinions.