ABSTRACT
One of the strangest phenomena in contemporary criminology in the United States is the treatment of race and ethnicity. On the one hand there is a long history of academic attention to differences among racial and ethnic groups in involvement in various sorts of criminality (Hooton, 1939; Wilson & Hermstein, 1985). On the other hand there today appears to be media and political pressure to avoid acknowledgment of the differences and possible consequences of the differences. Recently the New Jersey State Police Superintendent Col. Carl Williams was fired by Gov. Christie Whitman after he said in an interview that some minority groups were more likely to be involved in certain crimes (AP, 1999). The Governor is quoted as having said that Williams‘ comments were “inconsistent with our efforts to enhance public confidence in the State Police.” The same article reports that Williams said he did not condone racial profiling, and has never condoned racial profiling, but at the same time he said “it is naïve to think race is not an issue” in some sorts of crime (AP, 1999). While Col. Williams claims not to condone racial profiling, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reported in June, 1999, that it was a widespread practice: “Citing police statistics, case studies from 23 states and media reports, the organization asserts that law enforcement agencies have systematically targeted minority travelers for search … based on the belief that they are more likely than whites to commit crimes.” (Drummond, 1999).
