Reducing Ethnic Profiling in the European Union - Open Society ...

Take steps to ensure that all parts of the community are involved, including marginalizedgroups, vulnerable people, and others who may be hard to reach orhear. This includes being sensitive to divisions within communities and the useof appropriate tools of engagement for different groups.Define clear accountability structures including terms of reference and protocolsfor involvement mechanisms. It is important that community members understandhow their input will be used.Help communities build the capacity to hold the police accountable throughenhancing necessary skills and expertise.Provide resources to assist those working to build community involvementmechanisms.Community Policing ApproachesMany EU member states have long-standing community policing or “proximity policing”strategies which work through close contact and partnership with local residents.Community policing approaches can address ethnic profiling by supporting outreach toethnic minority and immigrant communities, improving relations and understanding,and improving service delivery.Community outreach must be taken seriously by law enforcement agencies, whomust commit to sustained dialogue with community representatives. Law enforcementagencies undermine their efforts if they only reach out in times of crisis. A dialoguerequires that law enforcement be willing to hear community complaints regarding theirpractices, and respond to the issues that are raised.Communication must be also be sustained through changes in police personnel.This means that the community policing approach needs to be integrated into the organization’sway of doing business rather than relegated to a handful of officers chargedwith “minority community relations.” Productive and enduring community outreachcannot be a one-way process of law enforcement instructing the community on issuesand actions; it must be a two-way process.The United Kingdom’s West Yorkshire Police regularly conduct “street briefings.”Twice a day senior officers brief police officers in public places such as parks, communitycenters, and commercial thoroughfares. Members of the public can listen to thebriefing given to officers before they go on patrol and are invited to join in and highlightlocal issues and concerns. The reaction to the street briefings by the local communitiesand the police has been positive, as it increases visibility and helps officers to understandand target local problems.150 COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND INVOLVEMENT