Dov Urges Profiling

By SAM GUSTIN and DAN MANGAN
August 1, 2005
Copyright 2005 NYP Holdings, Inc
www.nypost.com

Political correctness won't keep New Yorkers safe from terrorists, a state assemblyman said yesterday — promising to introduce legislation allowing cops to use racial profiling to target Middle Easterners when they search bags.
Dov Hikind charged that it's "insane" to look for bombs in the bags of "75-year-old grandmothers," adding, "The FBI and authorities have a good idea of who is going to commit terrorism. They all look similar, but everyone is terrified of using the word 'racial.' "

The Brooklyn Democrat said the NYPD's 10-day-old tactic of randomly checking bags — without regard to race or ethnicity — at subway entrances may be politically correct, but it won't save lives.

"There is a terrorist profile for a potential suicide bomber, and it's not the 75-year-old grandmother . . . who has an oversized tote bag firmly tucked under her arm" said Hikind, who called random searches "insane."

Instead, he argued, police should be stopping and searching "people of Middle Eastern descent," with particular focus on young men and women.