Shaun Gabbidon
Distinguished Professor Of Criminal Justice, Penn State Harrisburg
Key Findings
- The more that an individual viewed racial profiling as a discriminatory practice, the more they were likely to believe that it occurs at airports and the less likely they were to support the practice.
- The more likely an individual was to believe that racial profiling is accurate in identifying terrorists, the more likely they were to also believe racial profiling occurs in airports, and the more likely they were to support the practice.
- Individuals that perceived racial profiling as unethical were less likely to support its practice in airports.
Description
In the article, “Public Support for Racial Profiling in Airports: Results from a Statewide Poll,” Gabbidon and his co-authors examine the extent of public support of racial profiling at airports in the United States more than 15 years after the September 11 attacks. A previous study found that most Pennsylvanians believed that security measures relied on racial profiling at airports, and they did not support use of the practice. To conduct their study, the researchers included additional levels of data analysis to the Pennsylvania State’s Center for Survey Research poll in 2009 to discover nuanced connections. The data set included more than 850 randomly selected Pennsylvanians that were surveyed by 30 trained pollsters over the phone. The results showed that the more that an individual viewed racial profiling as a discriminatory practice, the more they were likely to believe that it occurs at airports, and therefore, the less likely they were to support the practice. The more likely an individual was to believe that racial profiling is accurate in identifying terrorists, the more likely they were to also believe racial profiling occurs in airports, and the more likely they were to support the practice. Individuals that perceived racial profiling as unethical were less likely to support its practice in airports. In conclusion, the authors note these findings are significant in that they show that more Americans were not comfortable with using racial profiling as a security practice in airports because the practice is not perceived to be effective or ethical.