Age Profiling.

[Alex Hepler]

I'm sure that almost everyone knows by now that race profiling is bad. Just because someone is from another country or has a slightly different shade of skin from you doesn't make them any better or worse. I'm also confident in the fact that most everyone has gotten over sexism girls are equal to guys and vise versa. So why then is there still so much profiling against teenagers. I'm not just talking about the blue hares at Palatine Historical society or that old woman at the checkout counter. I'm talking about people that you'd think would be more tolerant like teachers or even the police.

Has anyone noticed that about three out of the five days of the week theres a cop speed trapping on Illinois Road or Quentin Road? I have. They know exactly when school gets out and like a vicious cat outside a mouse hole they wait. Now, I'm not trying to say that the police are bad. As a matter of fact I support them and am glad that there are men and women keeping us safe and making sure people aren't Idiots on the road. What I am saying though is that the fact that they choose to do things like hide next to the school when it gets out is absurd. Especially when they could instead be enforcing laws to try and keep the streets safe from speed demons doing eighty to work every morning. *Cough*Palmer*Cough*

Does anyone else think that Police age profiling is something that needs to be taken care of?

Where elce have you seen age profileing?

[whitney cummings (caleo)]

I think cops really are just looking to keep the streets safe, but I definitely do see age profiling. Teenagers are an easy target for police; we are new and not very experienced drivers, and they have a quota to meet at the end of each month. But pulling us over for dumb reasons just because we're teenagers doesnt make it right. However, those very irresponsible teenage drivers kind of ruin it for us and give us that reputation.

[Alex Konrath]

Although the police might be "doing their job" in some cases, i have definitely come across bogus police situations in which they just pick on teenagers because they are easy targets. A teenager around here, isn't going to assault the police officer or go insane and push the pedal to the floor, the teenager is an easy hit for the police, young and scared, the perfect target. The fact that the police sit their and try to get kids speeding out of school is ridiculous, and they aren't doing any real good for the community, jacking kid's insurance rates as they go 5 miles per hour over the speed limit. Half the suburban cops out here are a joke, going for the easy target to show how tough they are to a bunch of 16-17 year old kids.

[haena y.]

Police officers are not trying to hide and chase teens down for no reason; they do it to keep everyone safe. Some irresponsible teens speed at a ridiculous speed, make mistakes, and do not have the best judgement on the road at times. The police are just there to make sure no one is doing anything irresponsible. Yea, they keep a close eye on the driving teens, but there are plenty of police officers looking out for adult speeders. As long as a driver/teen follows the rules they should not be disturbed by the police that are on the look out.

[Nate Brophy]

Yeah the police are meant to be there to serve and protect. Who are they protecting by sitting on Quinton and handing out tickets to people going ten over everyday...

[Alison Hagan]

It is not fair no, but there is a president that I guess set up the judgement. I don't think it's right though I know that there is a difference in development between an adult and a teenager. Teenagers are also more likely to be dumb with things like drugs including alcohol and get caught easier. They are an easy catch for cops.

[Nina Kocko]

The stereotyping that the po-po go by is from what they have heard about some teenagers, but only the really serious cases. I don't think its fair that they spread that stereotypical view to others just because of one policeman's bad experience, when the majority of teenagers aren't all that bad.

[Liz Dickerson]

I do think that age profiling is bad. If you think about it it is the same as race profiling. I mean its someone making assumption based on who your are. Technically now both of those are illegal and a cop can't do anything without probable cause, but it still is really bad.

[melissa dipasquale]

i totally agree! i notice cops stare me down as i pass them just about everyday while they try to find a reason to ticket me. they totally treat teenagers differently than adults and its really not fair.

[Evelyn Holy]

There is definitely some age profiling when I go to the mall with my friends and not my mom. If I'm with my mom, lets say, when I was looking for shoes for prom this weekend, all the stands in the middle were zeroed in on us. But whenever I go with my friends, they completely ignore us. It's funny though, because it's when I'm out with my friends that I have a lot of money that I could buy their stuff with, but when I'm out with my mom, I've only got about 20-not enough for what they sell. We have money, they just think we don't because we're young.

[Emily Fujii]

I think a lot of the stereotyping comes from those certain teenagers that decide to do bad things. People like that ruin it for all teenagers because the adults start to think that all teenagers are the same dangerous, crazy, and out of control. Not all teenagers are the same, adults need to wake up and realize that.