Racial profiling

Racial profiling is the use of race or ethnicity by authorities as a basis for suspicion, surveillance, searches, or enforcement rather than individualized evidence.

Implicit bias: Unconscious associations that can shape judgment and behavior. Implicit associations can influence whom authorities perceive as suspicious.
Racial disparities in policing: Differences among racial groups in police stops, searches, force, arrests, or other enforcement outcomes. These disparities are central evidence in debates about profiling, though they do not alone establish its cause.
New York City stop-and-frisk: A New York City policing program that used large numbers of street stops, especially during the 2000s and early 2010s. Its racial disparities and constitutional challenges became a prominent U.S. case study.
Criminal profiling: The use of behavioral or situational characteristics to identify people suspected of crime. It can rely on conduct or evidence, whereas racial profiling treats race as a basis for suspicion.
Stop and frisk: A police practice of stopping people in public, questioning them, and sometimes searching them. Discretionary street stops are a common setting for profiling claims.
Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution: A constitutional provision limiting unreasonable searches and seizures by the U.S. government. Its rules govern when suspicion can justify searches and stops.
Terry v. Ohio: A 1968 U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing limited stops and frisks based on reasonable suspicion. The ruling created the legal framework for many street encounters where profiling is alleged.
Ethnic profiling: The use of perceived ethnic origin by authorities as a basis for suspicion or enforcement. It names a closely related practice that may be distinct from race-based classification.
Pretextual traffic stop: A traffic stop based on a minor violation that serves as a pretext to investigate suspected crime. Broad discretion over traffic stops can make racial disparities difficult to distinguish from enforcement choices.
Equal Protection Clause: The Fourteenth Amendment requirement that states provide equal protection of the laws. It supplies a constitutional framework for challenges to intentional racial discrimination by state authorities.

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