Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System?

[Vermouth]

Ouch....If one does not like Grumpy's politics one must still admire his sheer brutality. Good Lord. 

Brutal? Hahaha. This was mild for Grumpy! And he's got a point that FSUBecker hasn't backed up the claim that whites commit crimes at the same rate as minorities. It sounds like FSUBecker's saying whites are more successful criminals because they do it behind closed doors?

[Peter1469]

The out of place doctrine can be common sense, and it can be abused.  If you have a car full of young white males driving through the worst part of town where there are known crack dealers working the corners, it is reasonable to suspect something is up if the car is slowing down at every intersection as if they are looking for a crack dealer.

I think the key is that being out of place should only be one factor in the analysis. 

[they call me MR. GRUMPY god damn it!]

call it the "out of place" doctrine, call it profiling which is in fact an extension of the same, regardless if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, its probably a duck...or baghdad sang

[Vermouth]

The out of place doctrine can be common sense, and it can be abused.  If you have a car full of young white males driving through the worst part of town where there are known crack dealers working the corners, it is reasonable to suspect something is up if the car is slowing down at every intersection as if they are looking for a crack dealer.

What does this have to do with race? A car slowing down at each intersection in a neighborhood where drugs are sold should be pulled over based on those facts, not on being "in an area where another race predominates."

[they call me MR. GRUMPY god damn it!]

 lets provide a hypothetical.  early am hours, you are patrolling an assigned area, an area that you patrol regularly.  you notice a car of young men cruising the neighborhood, you don't recognize them or the car, but do notice that their racial/ethnic identity differs from that which predominates the neighborhood.  does this pique your  curiosity?  do you give them some extra attention and in what form?  what would be the expectation of those living in the neighborhood? 

[Peter1469]

The out of place doctrine can be common sense, and it can be abused.  If you have a car full of young white males driving through the worst part of town where there are known crack dealers working the corners, it is reasonable to suspect something is up if the car is slowing down at every intersection as if they are looking for a crack dealer.

What does this have to do with race? A car slowing down at each intersection in a neighborhood where drugs are sold should be pulled over based on those facts, not on being "in an area where another race predominates."

It is one of the several factors that make it into the police report that is written after the stop.  Cops know who sticks out in various areas, why take that knowledge out of their kit-bag?  In the area that my brother works (East New Oreleans) there are places that the cops will turn any white person around because they are in serious danger (and are probably just there to buy drugs anyway.)

[they call me MR. GRUMPY god damn it!]

absolutely.  in short we pay them to be suspicious, to notice the out of place, to be inquisitive (nosy for fsu )  at the same time we expect and should demand that they conduct themselves as professionals within policy and understand that sometimes they are forced to make quick decisions on limited info.