Racial Profiling

Civil liberties and minority groups are pressuring police departments to eliminate racial and ethnic profiling in pedestrian and traffic stops, while police groups and some experts insist the complaints about the practice are exaggerated. African-Americans have long complained of traffic stops seemingly for “driving while black,” and many — including President Obama and Oprah Winfrey — said recently they have felt profiled by store clerks for “shopping while black.” Hispanics and Muslims also feel singled out as suspected immigration violators or terrorists. Two big law enforcement agencies — the New York City Police Department and the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which covers Phoenix — are under court order to eliminate the practice. In New York, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio is expected to change the NYPD's aggressive stop-and-frisk policies after he takes office on Jan. 1.