The phrase "racial profiling" has entered our nation's vocabulary. Among law enforcement administrators, legislators, street officers, and citizens the phrase has elicited a great deal of controversy. Is it a necessary tool for policing or bigotry in action?

Is racial profiling the same as profiling? Racial profiling is defined as any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, and national origin of a person rather than the behavior of an individual.

Profiling is the process of identifying criminal activity from a set of seemingly innocent circumstances that, when added together, provide probable cause to believe a crime has been committed, or is occurring.

Let's be clear. Race, ethnicity and national origin have nothing to do with probable cause, except when a person genuinely matches the physical description of a suspect wanted for a particular crime. Rejecting this statement leads us down a path filled with complaints, lawsuits, and the undermining of confidence and trust from the community we serve.