Most in U.S. believe cops use racial profiling, poll says

Saturday, 11 December 1999
http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/LA0689.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - Johnny Robinson says he had finished a long day at his barbershop and had just pulled his car onto the road home when he was stopped by a policeman and told that he looked ``suspicious.''
The 57-year-old black barber from Spartanburg, S.C., believes the police stop, which did not result in a ticket or arrest, was motivated by his color - a practice called racial profiling.
``It really burned me up,'' said Robinson.
He's not alone in seeing a pattern.
A majority of Americans, regardless of race, believe that racial profiling is widespread in this country, says a new Gallup poll. And three-fourths of young black men in the poll say they believe they have been pulled over just because they are black.
Poll respondents had such a practice described - ``It has been reported that police officers stop motorists of certain racial or ethnic groups because they believe that these groups are more likely than others to commit certain types of crimes'' - and then were asked what they thought.
More than four out of 10 blacks of all ages and both genders said they believe they've been stopped because of their race, said the poll, part of Gallup's annual social audit of black-white relations.
``It was very skewed toward young black men, with 72 percent saying they've been stopped, many of them multiple times,'' said Frank Newport, Gallup's editor in chief.
He noted the respondents' belief didn't necessarily mean they were right. But he said, ``This has really created an attitudinal rift between black men and police in today's society.''
While a majority of blacks overall have a favorable opinion of their local police, more than a third say they have an unfavorable view. Most black men between 18 and 34 in the poll had a negative view.
``I hear it all the time,'' said Robinson. ``If you have a nice car, they pull you over and think you're selling drugs. They don't think a black man can work and have enough money for a nice car.''
Spartanburg police are expressly told not to engage in racial profiling, said A. Tony Fisher, the city's director of public safety.
``If an officer stops someone and has no . . . reason for stopping them, we most likely will discipline them,'' said Fisher, a veteran black officer who has headed the Spartanburg force for more than four years.
``As an African-American with children and many relatives, I find that someone can always tell you a story . . . that suggests they were stopped for that reason,'' Fisher said. ``Is it totally out of control? I think not.
``Some of the paranoia exists,'' he said, ``which makes it very hard for the good, well-meaning officers who are trying to do their job in a fair and equitable way.''
The Justice Department's civil rights division has been working with some police departments around the country to encourage monitoring of the practice.


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