The Truth Behind Racial Profiling

I have blogged before on what profiling really is, but I think in light of Gates-gate we need a refresher.  The funny thing is that profiling really comes down to three components that we all agree on.  The problem is that when we talk in general or don’t think about the facts, it’s easy to let emotions or our own assumptions get in the way.  So here are the three factors to consider about profiling and the easy solution to keep it straight.

1. It is a simple statistical fact that some demographic categories (gender, age, race, religion) commit some crimes more than other demographic categories.  This information can be used in law enforcement to facilitate their investigations.
2. The statistical relationships between demographics and crimes are small.  This means if you use demographic profiles too much, you do more harm than good.  So investigators can consider demographic profiles along with lots of other data in their investigations, but should definitely not use them too much. 
3. Even if demographic categories are associated with certain crimes, we can choose not to use them for purely philosophical reasons (in the interest of creating a race-blind society for example).  We need to recognize that this would reduce the speed and effectiveness of investigations, but if we are willing to make that tradeoff, that is a decision we can make as a society.

So, here is the action plan:

1. Decide if we want to use demographic categories to assist in law enforcement in situations where the statistics show a link.
2. Analyze the data to quantify what the links are and how strong they are.
3. Develop law enforcement procedures and training to make sure investigators use profiles no more and no less than warranted.
4. Monitor law enforcement to make sure they are following #3.  If they use profiles too much or too little, retrain.
5. Continuously monitor the statistics and update the demographic-crime links accordingly.

It’s not that complicated.  The only emotionally hard part is #1. The only practically hard part is #3.