On September, 2013 the New York federal court ruled that the “Stop and Frisk” policy that the New York Police Department (NYPD) is executing, is a case of racial profiling and is against the constitutional law. New York’s “Stop and Frisk” policy controversy is now not just foreign news for us anymore. There are over a million of Korean people who go to the United States (U.S.) every year. Surprisingly, a great number of them have said that they have experienced excessive baggage inspection and felt like it was racial discrimination.

Racism is a common social problem in American society. It has long been an issue whether they should prioritize social security over human rights not to be judged by their ethnicities. Likely, there is much controversy over so-called “racial profiling” by the police, which is the practice of questioning more Blacks and other non-White people.

However, “racial profiling” and “Stop and Frisk” is different. According to the basic rule of “Stop and Frisk,” the inspection itself is solely based on people’s behaviors, not their race. Police officers are ordered to question people who show suspicious behaviors.

NYPD has signed up for laws banning racial profiling. They even allocated Black and Latino community leaders, to avoid racial problems. The policy clearly reveals that every inspection should be based on “behavior.” If an officer sees someone acting in a manner that shows signs of a crime, he or she has an obligation to stop and question that person, which is the basic of policing.

Unlike many other cities, police officers are even required to fill out a form every time they make a stop, identifying why the stop was made and the race of the person. The policy itself does its best to be objective as possible and avoid controversies. If there are some police officers who specially become more racist, it is a personal problem that should be solved through social efforts, such as campaigns.

What we also have to be aware of is the unique trait of American society. U.S. has always been facing the threat of terror from the militant Islamic group and they are still happening frequently. This could make the inspections seem more like racial profiling. However, one thing that is being neglected is the races of the victims. Based on crime data, more than 90 percent of those people killed in the city are Black and Hispanic.

In fact, most police stops are to prevent crimes committed against the non-white. Shamefully, none of these facts were reported in the media. Considering those facts, it is hard to regard “Stop and Frisk” policy as racially discriminating. This policy has significantly reduced the crime rates in the city, its purpose is to simply save the innocent lives. Therefore, people who are being inspected should understand the importance of “Stop and Frisk”, and cooperate in creating a safer society.

“Stop and Frisk” include regulations to prevent any racial discrimination. Moreover, the most important thing is that we should not belittle the importance of the rights of citizens to be safe from any violence on the road. They have a right to be free from the threat of being harmed by others.