Exploring the perceived extent of and citizens' support for consumer racial profiling: Results from a national poll Kareem L. Jordan a , Shaun L. Gabbidon b, ⁎, George E. Higgins c a Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of North Florida, 1 UNF Drive, Jacksonville, FL 32224, United States b School of Public Affairs, Pennsylvania State University-Harrisburg, 777 West Harrisburg Pike, Middletown, PA 17057, United States c Department of Justice Administration, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, United States abstract article info Using data from a national Gallup poll, this article examines several hypotheses related to citizens' perceptions regarding the prevalence of consumer racial profiling (CRP) in the retail setting in America, as well as their support for the practice. The oversampling of Black and Hispanic respondents allowed for analyses that tested for racial differences in perceptions concerning the extent of CRP, and also for racial differences in the support for the use of CRP. The multivariate analysis found that Blacks were more likely than Hispanics and Whites to believe that CRP was widespread; there were no differences in the views of residents from urban and suburban areas; there were no differences between racial and ethnic groups regarding whether profiling was justified; and the more liberal the respondents were, the more likely they felt CRP was widespread and not justified. The authors also discuss the implications of these findings and present some future directions for CRP research. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction In October 1971, Ms. Inez Settle, a seventy-year-old Black woman, entered a retailer named Mack's Stores of Shallottee, Inc. After browsing in the store, Ms. Settle headed for the exit, when she was grabbed by the manager and accused of shoplifting. Though she did not consent to it, she was taken to the back of the store at which time she was detained and searched. After finding nothing, the manager released Ms. Settle. Shortly thereafter, Ms. Settle filed a civil suit against the manager and the retailer, alleging both that “the de- fendants willfully and intentionally deprived her of personal freedom and were motivated because of…[her] race” (Settle v. Fred Burris and Mack Stores, 1973). On appeal, Ms. Settle scored a partial victory that resulted in her case being sent back for trial in the lower courts; however, there is no record that she later received any damages for the actions taken by the retailer. Ms. Settle's suit would be among the first of a steady flow of litigation in which racial and ethnic minorities would allege racially discriminatory treatment by store personnel in retail settings (Gabbidon, 2003). In fact, in 1997, more than twenty-five years after her unfortunate experience, three Black men were awarded one million dollars for compensatory and punitive damages for similar treatment experienced at an Eddie Bauer clothing store (Henderson, 2001; Russell, 1999). These anecdotal incidents highlight the fact that race and ethnicity were used in the decision-making process. In other words, in each of these situations specific forms of profiles based on race and ethnicity were used. Therefore, it is apparent that racial profiling is not isolated to traffic stops. Thus, when store employees target a shopper or shoppers for discriminatory treatment based on their race or ethnicity, it is re- ferred to as consumer racial profiling or retail racism (Fifield, 2001; O'Connell, 2001; Williams, Harris, & Henderson, 2001). In this article, the practice will be referred to as consumer racial profiling (CRP). Considering the nature of these CRP incidents, one would think that it has been a central area of focus among criminologists. This, however, has not been the case. The reason is likely because not long after the Eddie Bauer incident, racial profiling related to traffic stops caught the attention of legal scholars (D. A. Harris, 1997, 1999, 2002; Russell, 1999, 2001), criminologists (Ramirez, McDevitt, & Farrell, 2000; Smith & Alpert, 2002; Weitzer & Tuch, 2002), as well as policymakers and funding agencies—which, in essence, doomed any significant interest in what was occurring in retail establishments. The significance of the problem in retail settings was further over- shadowed by the terrorist attacks on 9/11 that produced an emphasis on profiling people of Middle Eastern descent (Onwudiwe, 2005). Even with the understandable emphasis on these critical areas of profiling, the reality is that private security personnel outnumber public police officers 3 to 1 (Dempsey, 2008), and that retailers lose billions of dollars each year (Hollinger & Langton, 2006). Considering these staggering losses, it is important to examine the methods used by retailers to minimize such losses. Journal of Criminal Justice 37 (2009) 353–359 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1717 948 6054; fax: +1 717 948 6320. E-mail address: slg13@psu.edu (S.L. Gabbidon). 0047-2352/$ – see front matter © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2009.06.003 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Criminal Justice