Half U.S. adults support racial profiling

WASHINGTON, April 15 (UPI) -- Half of U.S. adults support using racial and religious profiling to determine whether air passengers should get a more thorough screening, a poll said Thursday.

The Canadian polling company Angus Reid Public Opinion said 51 percent of respondents would support selecting people based on religious and racial characteristics, while 39 percent oppose it. Republicans at 64 percent, independents and those aged 35 to 54 at 54 percent, each were more likely to support profiling.

There was very high support for many methods of screening passengers with 91 percent in favor of explosive trace detection, 87 percent of sniffer dogs and 83 percent for 3-D body scanners and other advanced imaging. Almost three-quarters, 72 percent, support pat-downs.

Angus Reid surveyed 1,005 adults from its Springboard America panelists on April 6 and April 7. The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points either way.