A contextual study of racial profiling - Assessing the theoretical rationale for the study of racial profiling at the local level

In this article, the authors argue for the importance of a contextualized examination of racial profiling. Although the study of racial profiling has only begun, existing studies have typically examined this phenomenon at the state level and based on total population information gathered from high-patrol agencies. The authors argue that racial profiling is best understood within the spatial context of local areas rather than large geographical areas. The purpose of this article is to explore some theoretical avenues to investigating racial profiling within the community context by linking racial profiling to theoretical perspectives that highlight community-level processes. That is, the authors apply theories such as social disorganization, urban disadvantage/deprivation, and Sampson's community development and spatial diffusion arguments to the incident of racial profiling. The authors then illustrate the utility of exploring these linkages by providing information on crimes and structural dimensions in Miami-Dade County neighborhoods.