Students talk racial profiling in DPS alerts - The Michigan Daily
One of the key issues discussed was the use of racial descriptions in the Universitys Department of Public Safety crime alerts. Of the 22 crime alerts released by DPS between Jan. 1, 2011 and Nov. 9, 2011, 12 incidents occurred off campus and nine took place on campus, according to data released by DPS. Of these 22 alerts, 11 specifically identified the skin color of the suspect as white, five as black, one as darker skinned, one as hispanic, one as tan, one as olive and two had no race information.
Philosophy Prof. Elizabeth Anderson said information about race is not needed in crime alerts because it doesnt add any information to the description.
There is no value added in the description (of race), Anderson said. It reinforces the legitimacy of spreading stereotypes and damages the reputation of black men
One of the key issues discussed was the use of racial descriptions in the Universitys Department of Public Safety crime alerts. Of the 22 crime alerts released by DPS between Jan. 1, 2011 and Nov. 9, 2011, 12 incidents occurred off campus and nine took place on campus, according to data released by DPS. Of these 22 alerts, 11 specifically identified the skin color of the suspect as white, five as black, one as darker skinned, one as hispanic, one as tan, one as olive and two had no race information.
Philosophy Prof. Elizabeth Anderson said information about race is not needed in crime alerts because it doesnt add any information to the description.
There is no value added in the description (of race), Anderson said. It reinforces the legitimacy of spreading stereotypes and damages the reputation of black men