It really depends what you are looking for and the area you are in. If you are looking for suicide bombers, they have a pretty solid profile. If you are looking for a bomber, you don't need to stop the little old lady with the cane or the overloaded mother with the screaming (and obviously real) baby. There are, of course, exceptions, but if you focus your efforts on the profile that 99% of suicide bombers look like, you will be more likely to stop them.
Now, if you are looking for drug dealers, it gets a bit harder. Depending on the area in question, the big problem may be drug mules crossing the border, drug runners driving through your area on the interstate to a major city, the guys on the street with the drugs, or the folks growing it in their closet or field. You could be dealing with marijuanna, cocaine, or meth (for a start). What area of the nation you are in, what drugs you are looking for, and what the standard mode of operation is in the area will determine what you are looking for. The racial makeup of the local gangs (or full-out mafia) will help.
Profiling is simply examining what the crimes have in common, and then being on the lookout for people, places, or events that match the pattern.
Racial profiling is just one part of that. If you are looking for a serial killer, you are most likely looking for a white male in his 30s. Stopping the random black man and checking to see if he has a prostitute's head in his trunk is not going to help much in that circumstance.
Now, if you are looking for drug dealers, it gets a bit harder. Depending on the area in question, the big problem may be drug mules crossing the border, drug runners driving through your area on the interstate to a major city, the guys on the street with the drugs, or the folks growing it in their closet or field. You could be dealing with marijuanna, cocaine, or meth (for a start). What area of the nation you are in, what drugs you are looking for, and what the standard mode of operation is in the area will determine what you are looking for. The racial makeup of the local gangs (or full-out mafia) will help.
Profiling is simply examining what the crimes have in common, and then being on the lookout for people, places, or events that match the pattern.
Racial profiling is just one part of that. If you are looking for a serial killer, you are most likely looking for a white male in his 30s. Stopping the random black man and checking to see if he has a prostitute's head in his trunk is not going to help much in that circumstance.