13.07.2015 Views

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

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

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

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS
  • No tags were found...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

law enforcement leaders and managers, supervisory or operational officers; non-governmentalorganizations and pressure groups; lawyers and academics; and ethnic m<strong>in</strong>orityleaders and community organizations—have a vital role to play <strong>in</strong> undertak<strong>in</strong>g change.This handbook recommends a comprehensive approach to address<strong>in</strong>g ethnic profil<strong>in</strong>g—anapproach that seeks to understand all <strong>the</strong> dimensions of <strong>the</strong> problem and todevelop both general and targeted responses. A holistic approach to address<strong>in</strong>g ethnicprofil<strong>in</strong>g will be articulated through national legislation, standards, and strategies orplans that provide a high level of visibility and a clear demonstration of political commitmentto reduce ethnic profil<strong>in</strong>g, as well as lay<strong>in</strong>g out specific actions to be takenat more local levels. In a holistic approach, each element re<strong>in</strong>forces <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs and aconsistent message is sent to all members of <strong>the</strong> law enforcement <strong>in</strong>stitution, to specificcommunities, and to <strong>the</strong> larger public.Important elements of a holistic approach <strong>in</strong>clude:• Review<strong>in</strong>g legal standards, operational and <strong>in</strong>stitutional practices that contributeto or permit profil<strong>in</strong>g and amend<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m to create clear standards and safeguards;• Institut<strong>in</strong>g systems to monitor law enforcement practices to detect profil<strong>in</strong>g;• Build<strong>in</strong>g polic<strong>in</strong>g skills and capacity to operate without profil<strong>in</strong>g;• Initiat<strong>in</strong>g recruitment drives to create diverse law enforcement agencies that representall communities;• Engag<strong>in</strong>g with communities to identify and address local problems and buildtrust.These approaches have <strong>the</strong> dual effect of <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g police efficacy and improv<strong>in</strong>g<strong>the</strong> quality of ethnic m<strong>in</strong>orities’ encounters with law enforcement.In general, mechanisms to address ethnic profil<strong>in</strong>g, like o<strong>the</strong>r police accountabilitymechanisms, function at three dist<strong>in</strong>ct levels: legal and political, <strong>in</strong>stitutionaland managerial, and community-based. These three levels correspond to <strong>the</strong> differentstakeholders <strong>in</strong> law enforcement. 56Law enforcement agencies are accountable to legal standards. They are alsoaccountable to national—and <strong>in</strong> many cases, local—political authorities for <strong>the</strong>ir legalpowers, for policy direction, and for <strong>the</strong>ir budgets.Law enforcement agencies have <strong>in</strong>stitutional mechanisms for managerial andadm<strong>in</strong>istrative accountability that govern officers’ encounters with civilians. These areoften <strong>the</strong> most powerful <strong>in</strong>struments <strong>in</strong> chang<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> daily behavior of law enforcementpersonnel. 5730 A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO REDUCING ETHNIC PROFILING

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!