The Department of Public Safety should not include any descriptive details in its public safety notices unless they are distinctive and can be used to identify a suspect.

The ongoing discussion on whether or not DPS should include the race of suspects in public safety notices was raised by Student Association President Aysha Seedat at the assembly’s Monday night meeting. The members’ mixed responses reflect the two main opposing arguments on the topic: Some assembly members felt that disclosing a suspect’s race would help identify the suspect, while others were worried that it could lead to issues of racial profiling.

The debate has lingered on the Syracuse University campus since DPS stopped including suspects’ races in public safety notices in March 2013 after some students cited that they felt marginalized by the practice.

But the overall usefulness of general descriptors, including race, is limited. The usual height, clothing and age descriptions included in DPS public safety notices only construct a vague image of a person and lack defining characteristics that would be useful in identifying someone.

For this reason, DPS should release descriptive information in public safety notices on a case-by-case basis, only disclosing details for cases in which they can be of significant help in the search for a suspect. These specifics could include perceived gender, birthmarks, tattoos or the unique nature of a crime.

To include the ethnicity and race of a suspect in safety notices would only contribute to racial stereotypes and fuel a sense of fear among students that would lead to discriminatory racial profiling. Additionally, Chief Law Enforcement Officer Tony Callisto has said that racial descriptors haven’t helped DPS identify suspects in the past, according to a Syracuse.com article. 

Without the vague description, safety notices would still be a precautionary measure for students, warning them to be aware of their surroundings. Especially since the notices are often sent out several hours after the crime took place, the most relevant information to students is what the crime was and where it took place.

The discussion of race and crime safety reports is important to have on the SU campus. But considerations should extend past race and spur a stronger conversation about the usefulness of vague descriptors in communications between DPS and the university community.

Published on November 4, 2015 at 12:47 am

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