Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting, or discriminating against a person based on their ethnicity, religion, or nationality, rather than individual suspicion or evidence. This practice involves discrimination against minority populations and often relies on negative stereotypes. Racial profiling can include disproportionate stop-and-searches, traffic stops, and the use of surveillance technology for facial identification. Racial profiling can occur de jure or de facto. Critics argue that racial profiling is discriminatory as it disproportionately targets people of color. Supporters claim it can be an effective tool for preventing crime but acknowledge that it should be closely monitored and used in a way that respects civil rights.
Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, asphyxiation, beatings, shootings, improper takedowns, racially-motivated violence and unwarranted use of tasers.
The U.S. National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence was formed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in Executive Order 11412 on June 10, 1968, after the April 4 assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the June 5 assassination of Robert F. Kennedy.
William Henry Parker III was an American law enforcement officer who was Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) from 1950 to 1966. To date, he is the longest-serving LAPD police chief. Parker has been called "Los Angeles' greatest and most controversial chief of police". The former headquarters of the LAPD, the Parker Center, was named after him. During his tenure, the LAPD was known for police brutality and racism; Parker himself was known for his "unambiguous racism".
Religious police are any police force responsible for the enforcement of religious norms and associated religious laws. Nearly all religious police organizations in modern society are Islamic and can be found in countries with a large Muslim populace, such as Saudi Arabia or Iran. The responsibilities of religious police heavily vary by religion and culture. For example, the Islamic religious police prioritize the prevention of alcohol consumption, playing of music, public displays of affection, Western holidays, and prayer time absences. On the other hand, the religious police force in Vietnam are responsible for monitoring religious extremists, such as Dega Protestants or Ha Mon Catholics. As of 2012, at least 17 nations have police that enforce religious norms, according to a new Pew Research analysis of 2012 data. These actions are particularly common in the Middle East and North Africa, where roughly one-third of countries (35%) have police enforcing religious norms. As of 2012, religious police forces were not present in any country in Europe or the Americas.
Human rights are largely respected in Switzerland, one of Europe's oldest democracies. Switzerland is often at or near the top in international rankings of civil liberties and political rights observance. Switzerland places human rights at the core of the nation's value system, as represented in its Federal Constitution. As described in its FDFA's Foreign Policy Strategy 2016-2019, the promotion of peace, mutual respect, equality and non-discrimination are central to the country's foreign relations.
As of 2024, more than 1,280,000 sworn law enforcement officers are serving in the United States. About 137,000 of those officers work for federal law enforcement agencies.
The National Black Police Association (NBPA) is an interest group of the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) staff of the UK police forces, founded in November 1999, which seeks to improve their working environment, to challenge racial prejudice and to enhance the quality of service to all non-white communities of the United Kingdom.
Racism in Portugal has a long history, including the early modern persecution of Muslims and Jews and Portugal's involvement in the trade in enslaved people from West Africa.
Human rights in Austria are generally respected by the government; however, there were problems in some areas. There were some reports of police abuse and use of unjustified force against prisoners. Antisemitic incidents, including physical attacks, name-calling, property damage, and threatening letters, telephone calls, and Internet postings occurred during the year. There was some governmental and societal discrimination against fathers, Muslims and members of unrecognized religious groups, particularly those considered "sects". There were incidents of neo-Nazi activity, rightwing extremism, and xenophobia. Trafficking in women and children for prostitution and labor also remained a problem.
The federal government of the United States empowers a wide range of federal law enforcement agencies to maintain law and public order related to matters affecting the country as a whole.
Race in the United States criminal justice system refers to the unique experiences and disparities in the United States in regard to the policing and prosecuting of various races. There have been different outcomes for different racial groups in convicting and sentencing felons in the United States criminal justice system. Although prior arrests and criminal history is also a factor. Experts and analysts have debated the relative importance of different factors that have led to these disparities.
Police brutality is the use of excessive or unwarranted force by law enforcement against civilians. Police brutality involves physical or psychological harm to a person and can involve beatings, killing, intimidation tactics, racist abuse, and torture.
The State of Texas is considered to have some of the most relaxed gun laws in the United States. Public concerns over gun control in Texas have increased in recent years as Mexican drug cartels continue to commit violent crimes closer to Texas' stretch of the Mexico–United States border. They have also increased due to the number of incidents, including misuse of firearms stolen from other sources.
Racial profiling by law enforcement at the local, state, and federal levels, leads to discrimination against people in the African American, Native American, Asian, Pacific Islander, Latino, Arab, and Muslim communities of the United States. Examples of racial profiling are the use of race to determine which drivers to stop for minor traffic violations, or the use of race to determine which pedestrians to search for illegal contraband. Besides such disproportionate searching of African Americans and members of other minority groups, other examples of racial profiling by law enforcement in the U.S. include the Trump-era China Initiative following racial profiling against Chinese American scientists; the targeting of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the investigation of illegal immigration; and the focus on Middle Eastern and South Asians present in the country in screenings for ties to Islamic terrorism. These suspicions may be held on the basis of belief that members of a target racial group commit crimes at a higher rate than that of other racial groups.
Criminal justice reform seeks to address structural issues in criminal justice systems such as racial profiling, police brutality, overcriminalization, mass incarceration, and recidivism. Reforms can take place at any point where the criminal justice system intervenes in citizens’ lives, including lawmaking, policing, sentencing and incarceration. Criminal justice reform can also address the collateral consequences of conviction, including disenfranchisement or lack of access to housing or employment, that may restrict the rights of individuals with criminal records.
Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive force by law enforcement personnel while performing their official duties in an abusive and unjustified manner. Police brutality can also include psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure.
In the United States, use of deadly force by police has been a high-profile and contentious issue. In 2022, 1,096 people were killed by police shootings according to The Washington Post, while according to the "Mapping Police Violence" (MPV) project, 1,176 people were killed by police in total. MPV documented 1,213 killings by police for 2023.
Anti-police sentiment is opposition to the police by groups or individuals.
Human rights in Slovakia are governed by the laws of Slovakia and overseen by international organizations such as the Council of Europe.
