Profiling. Is any sort of profiling okay?

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8. profiling can be essential

There was a period where my state stopped including the victim's and suspect's color in the warnings that scrolled accross my TV.

I don't know that it would help much to include, but "180 lb man with a 7yo girl in a blue sedan" probably results in a lot more incorrect 9-1-1 calls than "180 lb white man with a 7yo white girl in a blue sedan". Even worse, I've incorrectly assumed the colors (in both directions). Pretty useless for me to be on the lookout for a black/white man when the suspect is white/black.

If law enforcement has a specific suspect, they had sure as hell better be focusing on individuals matching the profile, and not inconveniencing everyone. Others may be helping, but focus on the specifics.

If there is a "credible & specific threat", law enforcement can broaden the scope some, but should focus on the knowns. For example, when looking for the Georgia militia terrorists a few months ago law enforcement should not have needed to inconvenience blacks or middle-easterners. That doesn't mean to ignore the other groups, but "white male" deserved the most scrutiny.

I've lived in neighborhoods where I wanted a patrol car 24/7, and others where I'm fine if I never see one. I'd call it profiling to put the patrols where there's "more likely to be crime" rather than having every street patrolled equally.