Test Essay

TEST ESSAY Introduction

Research using secondary data analysis is a method that usually involves an analysis of data that were collected for other purposes . This is a very efficient and useful method . For one thing it saves the time resources , and money that may be involved in collecting one 's own data Because researchers have the original data , they can manipulate it almost any way they want . They can conduct their own analysis for different purposes than originally intended

Racial profiling , in its simplest form , is the use of a person

's race or ethnicity by a police officer as a reason for initiating contact . This is the major controversy in police-community relations in recent years (Harris , 2002 . Racial profiling is therefore , the practice of police officers of stopping drivers because of their race or ethnicity and not because of a legitimate law violation

As an example , a fellow researcher would like me to join her to perform secondary data analysis on Department of Justice Data relevant to traffic stops and racial profiling in this essay . In this case , I would be interested to examine if the data will answer this question : Do police officers target certain races or ethnicities for investigatory or traffic stops ? This question became a national focus of interest in the late 1990s . Due to allegations in several cities that police officers paid closer attention to minority group members when making traffic stops or conducting investigatory stops , hence , the concept of racial profiling has become a highly debated issue

The more specific questions that the secondary data should answer to make the research feasible would be

1 . Which race was stopped at a higher rate ? lowest rate

2 . Will the data shows comparison of racial profiling among races

What are the causes for a stop ? Or what are police justifications for a stop

4 . What percentage of traffic stopped is due to violation of traffic laws

5 . Did the stops result in an arrest ? If yes , what is the rate

6 . Were those people who were stopped felt they were abused in any form

The racial profiling controversy involves very complex issues related to determining actual traffic enforcement practices by law enforcement agencies , the

proper analysis of official traffic stop data , and the most effective remedies for racial or ethnic bias in traffic enforcement . Most important , while almost all traffic stop data reports have found evidence of racial or ethnic disparities in stops and searches , not all of these reports have found persuasive evidence of illegal discrimination

Although many police agencies and individual officers claim that this does not exist , there is some evidence to the contrary . In 2001 Racial profiling continues to be traffic enforcement 's number one hot-button issue (Sweeney , 2001 ,

. 16 . Large differences between black and white Americans ' perceptions of police fairness underscore the importance of this issue in understanding the racial divide in the United States . Nearly nine out of 10 whites feel that they are treated fairly by state or...