[DaGeek]

Originally Posted by adamwagg

My understanding is that racial profiling has been shown to be ineffective, where as behavioural and other profiling has been a lot more effective. Unfortunately can't remember where that was.

I think I recall the article you're thinking of. Was that the report on Israel's airport security that was being implemented in an airport in the US with a reasonably good measure of success? (I want to say it was in Florida, but I may be wrong?)

[jthomas1600]

Originally Posted by adamwagg

My understanding is that racial profiling has been shown to be ineffective, where as behavioural and other profiling has been a lot more effective. Unfortunately can't remember where that was.

I guess I should clarify that from what I understand race can be an effective part of profiling. But profiling by race alone would indeed not be effective. The example I gave where there are KKK types committing crimes against blacks it would be good to use a profile in an effort to put an end to it. But you would not focus on every white person. But if see a truck drive by with a couple of white 22 year old kids with shaved heads and a rebel flag flying from the truck I think it would be worth giving them some extra scrutiny.

The information I have on this is almost a decade old. But I took some criminology classes and this topic was discussed. The instructor (a retired police chief from Alaska) had said that the evidence showed profiling in a general sense (with race being included as part of the profile) to be effective.

[beanbag]

racial profiling is bs unless it is practiced by people who can accurately profile and understand the nuances between races.

the majority of dark skinned men walking around with turbans on are neither arab nor muslim.

women wearing head coverings could just as well be christian or athiest.

men with accents could be religious refugees who escaped to this country because they sought protection as christians in what they thought to be a christian country.

just because someone is arab or pakistani or afghani or muslim doesn't mean they want to kill americans.

also, let's not forget about the caucasian jihadists.


yes it makes sense to stop someone for questioning if they appear to be middle eastern or muslim AND are exhibiting suspicious behavior. let's also detain every other kind of person if they are exhibiting suspicious behavior.

just because someone has brown skin is an absolutely terrible reason for detaining them. a lot of middle eastern-descent people who live in the states are here because they have escaped oppression from where they previously were. if they are acting weird, sure, hold them for questioning. if they are walking through an airport with a foreign accent and a foreign name, that is not good enough grounds.

in the case of this article, were the two men held for questioning?

[ICallHimTurtle]

Also, sidenote: Consider the reputation we have (established ourselves) with detaining someone because of race. Can you really expect people to feel calm when they fly anymore? Acting nervously can look to the untrained eye like suspicious behavior.

[TheProdigalModern]

Originally Posted by beanbag

racial profiling is bs unless it is practiced by people who can accurately profile and understand the nuances between races.

the majority of dark skinned men walking around with turbans on are neither arab nor muslim.

As in this article, where they were Indians.

women wearing head coverings could just as well be christian or athiest.

My wife used to wear a headcover due to a Mennonite influence in her life at the time (she still covers in church, but not in the outside world).

also, let's not forget about the caucasian jihadists.

Nor should we forget that terrorists can look like this:

yes it makes sense to stop someone for questioning if they appear to be middle eastern or muslim AND are exhibiting suspicious behavior. let's also detain every other kind of person if they are exhibiting suspicious behavior.

The problem is how we define suspicious. It seems to be the question of our times.

in the case of this article, were the two men held for questioning?

Yes.