Perhaps it is our close proximity to the Mexican-American border, our state’s history of racism veiled as legislation or just a sign of the times, but the discussion on immigration — in this case, racial profiling by police officers — will be ongoing and ultimately, never-ending.
As you will read on page six in The State Press, Sen. David Schapira, D-Tempe, introduced Senate Bill 1071 for the second legislative session in a row, which would ban Arizona law enforcement officers from racial profiling. Schapira introduced the bill last year in response to Senate Bill 1070, which granted officers the right to pull over any person suspected of being an illegal immigrant. If passed, Arizona law enforcement officers would have to participate in state-mandated training programs that aim to educate the officers on racial profiling. Education is the first step to change, at least on paper.
This raises a number of questions, issues, praises and concerns. The first being: Isn’t profiling in the general sense, inherently part of the job description of a police officer? Law enforcement, especially patrolling officers, must view each situation they encounter through a different lens than the general public. They must have a heightened observatory agenda when approaching a simple traffic stop, a drug bust or the dreaded “one-eight-seven” call. Everyone fits a “profile” and a necessary field trait of a police officer is the ability to cipher through the stereotypes, misconceptions or false leads and find the real criminals. This doesn’t include pulling over people based on their skin color or driving through predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods at the orders of an out-of-touch sheriff.
Human nature and behavior is dictated by a series of actions and reactions. No two situations are exactly the same and whether it’s a conscious decision, stereotypes, generalizations and past experiences will act as an unintentional influence on how one human perceives another. In other words, sometimes we profile those we don’t know, without even meaning to. An officer might find himself faced with the decision: Do I draw my gun on these men because someone fitting a similar description once shot at me? Or, do I wait to find out more?
Which brings us to the next concern: enforcement. Just because an officer is educated on the issue and told not to do so, there is no way to effectively enforce such a rule. As Americans, we are innocent until proven guilty, however, when racial profiling comes into play, sometimes it’s the other way around.
The final question we should be asking ourselves when attempting to interpret the pros and cons of SB 1071 is, if this makes so much sense, why couldn’t lawmakers pass this the first time around? While this is by no means a solution to the debate over the role of police officers in fighting illegal immigration, it definitely acts as a palliative to those who opposed SB 1070. It is a step in the right direction.
Ultimately, this bill has the potential to raise hostility within the police force and backlash from a potentially ostracized community. At the same time, it possesses the vision to see past the paperwork. By putting it out there that Arizona law enforcement is banned from using minor traffic violations as an excuse to pull over those they think look like illegal immigrants, we are taking crucial steps toward an immigration plan that isn’t founded on legalized racism.
Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
Follow The State Press on Twitter or like us on Facebook.
