Racial Profiling as a counter- terrorism tool: To what extent has racial profiling contributed to the security of the United Kingdom since the London bombing of 7 June 2005?

Abstract

The important fight against racial bias and discrimination in the United Kingdom is on the increase, with data showing that since the July 2005 train bombings, the police forces all over Britain have drastically increased the rates of racist assaults. Though there are currently rarer de jure practices of bias, de facto racial bias consistently plague the United Kingdom, restraining the pleasure of basic human rights among millions of people of ethnic and racial minorities. Practices and policies that seem race-neutral yet unfairly restrict the freedoms and rights of people of different racial backgrounds are hard to challenge, and inaugurating their discriminatory nature within the conscious of the public and among policymakers is a battle that is too difficult to fight. The law enforcements’ racial profiling and the related criminalization of people based on their race is a perfect example of the difficulty (Hudson, 2011). Despite the irresistible evidence about the existence of profiling, often confirmed by official data, there is still egregious and prevalent discrimination in a number of western nations.

The issue of differences in treatment of people of different ethnic background has brought a significant debate among observers and scholars, though there is no conclusion that is being adopted by the United Kingdom. This paper evaluates the application of racial profiling as a tool to counter terrorism, and the extent to which it has contributed to UK’s security since the 7 July 2005 train bombings in London. The paper defines profiling, the perspective of legality and human rights, effectiveness, and limitations.