Not to be politically correct. But to not discriminate.
If they are searching for suspects who fit a particular description in a criminal case then that's fine but it sounds as though these "stop and searches" are supposed to be random.
So in your point of view, you are saying that grandmas and young mothers never do anything illegal? I know where I would hide my stash of stolen goods or drugs next time.
I guess it depends on how reliable the data is which you base the profiling on.
Are certain types of people more likely to commit some crimes than others? If they do, is the correlation causal?
It may also depend on how sensitively the police approach it. And is the collateral damage worth it i.e. the innocent people, the damaged relationships with parts of society, the self-fulfilling prophecies.
The problems in America are well publicised. I know there is no quick fix, but i don;t think profiling is the answer.
If they are looking into Triad related crime, does it not make sense to stop people who have features that a common triad member has? i.e. dyed hair, tattoos
By the same measure, if they are looking into crime reportedly committed by dark skinned asians, would they not be correct in stopping people who fit that description given that they are in an extreme minority?
I grew up in Edinburgh when chinese folks are few and far between (something like 1.5%). If someone reported a chinese person committing a crime and I happen to be in the area, I wouldn't be offended if I was stopped.
There are also plenty of mainland Chinese over-stayers too. Do they experience higher rates of stop and search as well?Original Post Deleted
I am not sure if the police would keep these statistics though, but it would be quite interesting.