BY MIKE CETERA
If you're black or Hispanic, here's more proof you're more likely to be pulled over by the police than a white motorist.
The data, collected by the state for three years now, also shows that minority drivers are 13 percent more likely to be cited during a traffic stop than whites and 3 times more likely to be asked for consent to search their vehicles.
State Rep. Monique Davis said the study proves that racial profiling “is not a myth, that it actually does occur.”
I wonder why minority groups in the Fox Valley aren't more vocal about this. Aside from a few rumblings years ago, no group has publicly complained about racial profilling here. Is it just not a problem?
If I'm reading the numbers correctly, the likelihood that a minority driver is pulled over in Aurora actually grew in 2006, if only slightly.
I agree there should be a conversation between our law enforcement officials and our community. These statistics will help with that.
But really this is an old and well documntated problem that has been addressed by the ACLU and many others over the years. Thanks to Monique Davis and others, everyone is hearing about a problem that has existed (and been complained about) in IL for a long time now. It's important to remember that just because white guys like me haven't heard abuot complaints doesn't mean there hasn't been any.
http://www.racialprofilinganalysis.neu.edu/whatsnew/?selected_year=2003
I think law enforcement is just doing their job. Think about it, the majority of gang members are either black or hispanic and if you read the police blotter you will notice that a large percentage of the hispanics stopped do not have a drivers license or insurance. They need to be off the streets! It just makes sense to me that the officers are going to check them out. They should be angry with their own kind for giving their race a bad name rather than the officers doing their jobs.
I would be more interested in the ratio of minority officers who pull over other minorities. In college I did a paper on police brutality and black officers attacked more black, and white officers attacked more whites. Unlike, what the media would like us to believe. I think the media intentionally misleads the public into thinking that there is some kind of racial issue when race isn't such a big factor.
Personally, as a white male, I am racist towards "White Trash"; whites have more personal and professional advantages, and so when I see W.T., I get irritated, so I understand the police brutality. I don't agree with it, but I understand it.
In this article, what race is the profiler? and how do they relate to the profilee? - are more important questions.