Racial Profiling in North Carolina:: Do Police Target Minorities?

This book examines the police practices of the North Carolina Highway Patrol and the occurrence of racial profiling in motor vehicle stops. The purpose of this study is to investigate the police practices in North Carolina to deepen our understanding of its existence and form in a southern state. The goal is to ascertain if the practice of racial profiling is in fact occurring, and what police practices are most vulnerable to abuse toward this end. The practice of racial profiling is controversial for several reasons. First, targeting people because of their race is a form of discrimination. Second, racial profiling is based on a presumption of guilt and targets people on the basis of a collective identity, race. Third, racial profiling is used to compensate for a lack of evidence and represents poor police work. The current study indicates that blacks are more likely than whites to be subjected to pretextual type stops. The results also indicate that racial profiling was occurring more in the western region than in the eastern region of North Carolina.

Mr. Sluss received his Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology from East Tennessee State Uninversity. He served as a deputy sheriff for 10 years with the Washington County Sheriff's Department. His primary research interest include racial bias and the treatment of minorities in the criminal justice system.