Law professor David Harris argues that, "The impulse to use a profile targeting young Muslim men may seem obvious in light of the bombings in London and elsewhere, but using these kinds of demographic factors in law enforcement, except as a description of a known suspect, would be a first-order strategic mistake." In particular, Professor Harris reasons, in part:

When we make appearance - looking like a young Muslim or Arab or South Asian - one of the criteria we use to decide who is suspicious, we lose what must be a total focus on behavior. This makes law enforcement officers less accurate in finding what they are looking for, as several studies have shown.

Using a profile against young Arab and South Asian Muslims destroys our ability to make use of our most important weapon against terrorists: intelligence. Intelligence is key to finding these killers before they reach the subway station or airport concourse, and the best possible source for intelligence about these zealots is our very own Muslim, Arab and South Asian communities.