Questioninggeller
17th June 2003, 10:02 PM
Why isn't Bush against affirmative action (except in some cases)?
If it's helpful for security, why isn't it help for education to help poor people?
Or is it just bad to help people who weren't born into wealthly areas?
Federal Officers Banned from Racial Profiling
By Deborah Charles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department (news - web sites) on Tuesday issued guidelines that ban federal law enforcement officers from racial profiling in routine police work but allow the use of race and ethnicity to identify terrorist suspects.
With the approval of President Bush (news - web sites), the department sent all federal law enforcement agencies the guidelines forbidding officers from using race as a factor when they are conducting routine investigations.
"Today's guidance ... is the clearest and most comprehensive statement and guidance regarding the consideration of race and ethnicity in law enforcement activities from any administration ever," said Ralph Boyd, assistant attorney general for civil rights.
The guidelines forbid racial profiling in regular police work, even where such profiling would otherwise be permitted by the U.S. Constitution. For example, under the new rules, federal officers cannot use race or ethnicity when deciding which motorists to stop for traffic violations.
But the rules allow race or ethnicity to be used when there is "trustworthy information" that links persons of a particular race or ethnicity to a criminal incident or organization.
There is also a caveat for officers who are trying to prevent future attacks like those of Sept. 11, 2001.
"The racial profiling guidance, therefore, recognizes that race and ethnicity may be used in terrorist identification," the Justice Department said in a statement.
"Federal law enforcement officers who are protecting national security or preventing catastrophic events (as well as airport security screeners) may consider race, ethnicity and other relevant factors to the extend permitted by our laws and the Constitution," the guidelines said.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the principle behind the new rules was good but there were too many loopholes.
"Whenever you're talking about terrorism, that seems to be a code word for Muslims and Arabs," he said. "We're obviously pleased that they are trying to prohibit profiling but there seem to be loopholes. It might make one believe profiling will be prohibited except when it has to do with Muslims and Arabs."
Civil rights organizations had complained that members of minority groups have been unfairly targeted by many police departments for searches and stops, constituting harassment.
Shortly after taking office, Bush vowed to take measures to end racial profiling -- the practice of using a person's race as a reason to suspect them of breaking the law.
He ordered Attorney General John Ashcroft, whose own nomination was opposed by many civil rights leaders and Democrats in Congress on grounds he was insensitive to racial issues, to address the problem.
Nearly two years later, the Justice Department finished the guidelines and ordered the approximately 70 federal agencies that have a law enforcement role to follow the new rules.
The guidelines are for federal officers only, but officials hope they would also be a model for state and local police.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030617/ts_nm/rights_profiling_dc_2
Was the Oklahoma City Bombing terrorist Muslim, Arab, or both?
If it's helpful for security, why isn't it help for education to help poor people?
Or is it just bad to help people who weren't born into wealthly areas?
Federal Officers Banned from Racial Profiling
By Deborah Charles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department (news - web sites) on Tuesday issued guidelines that ban federal law enforcement officers from racial profiling in routine police work but allow the use of race and ethnicity to identify terrorist suspects.
With the approval of President Bush (news - web sites), the department sent all federal law enforcement agencies the guidelines forbidding officers from using race as a factor when they are conducting routine investigations.
"Today's guidance ... is the clearest and most comprehensive statement and guidance regarding the consideration of race and ethnicity in law enforcement activities from any administration ever," said Ralph Boyd, assistant attorney general for civil rights.
The guidelines forbid racial profiling in regular police work, even where such profiling would otherwise be permitted by the U.S. Constitution. For example, under the new rules, federal officers cannot use race or ethnicity when deciding which motorists to stop for traffic violations.
But the rules allow race or ethnicity to be used when there is "trustworthy information" that links persons of a particular race or ethnicity to a criminal incident or organization.
There is also a caveat for officers who are trying to prevent future attacks like those of Sept. 11, 2001.
"The racial profiling guidance, therefore, recognizes that race and ethnicity may be used in terrorist identification," the Justice Department said in a statement.
"Federal law enforcement officers who are protecting national security or preventing catastrophic events (as well as airport security screeners) may consider race, ethnicity and other relevant factors to the extend permitted by our laws and the Constitution," the guidelines said.
Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the principle behind the new rules was good but there were too many loopholes.
"Whenever you're talking about terrorism, that seems to be a code word for Muslims and Arabs," he said. "We're obviously pleased that they are trying to prohibit profiling but there seem to be loopholes. It might make one believe profiling will be prohibited except when it has to do with Muslims and Arabs."
Civil rights organizations had complained that members of minority groups have been unfairly targeted by many police departments for searches and stops, constituting harassment.
Shortly after taking office, Bush vowed to take measures to end racial profiling -- the practice of using a person's race as a reason to suspect them of breaking the law.
He ordered Attorney General John Ashcroft, whose own nomination was opposed by many civil rights leaders and Democrats in Congress on grounds he was insensitive to racial issues, to address the problem.
Nearly two years later, the Justice Department finished the guidelines and ordered the approximately 70 federal agencies that have a law enforcement role to follow the new rules.
The guidelines are for federal officers only, but officials hope they would also be a model for state and local police.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20030617/ts_nm/rights_profiling_dc_2
Was the Oklahoma City Bombing terrorist Muslim, Arab, or both?