Racial Profiling: Legal and Constitutional Issues (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised April 16, 2012 |
| Report Number |
RL31130 |
| Report Type |
Report |
| Authors |
Charles V. Dale, American Law Division |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Racial profiling is the practice of targeting individuals for police or security detention based ontheir race or ethnicity in the belief that certain minority groups are more likely to engage inunlawful behavior. Examples of racial profiling by federal, state, and local law enforcementagencies are illustrated in legal settlements and data collected by governmental agencies andprivate groups, suggesting that minorities are disproportionately the subject of routine trafficstops and other security-related practices. The issue has periodically attracted congressionalinterest, particularly with regard to existing and proposed legislative safeguards, which includethe proposed End Racial Profiling Act of 2011 (H.R. 3618/S. 1670) in the 112th Congress. Severalcourts have considered the constitutional ramifications of the practice as an "unreasonable searchand seizure" under the Fourth Amendment and, more recently, as a denial of the FourteenthAmendment's equal protection guarantee. A variety of federal and state statutes provide potentialrelief to individuals who claim that their rights are violated by race-based law enforcementpractices and policies.Bills: H.R. 3618, S. 1670
