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

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officer misconduct more than patterns of practice sometimes produced by operationaldecision-making or habitual policing approaches. The circular adopted in the Greek casestudy below requires that internal disciplinary inquiries consider the possibility of racistintent. A positive step, this requirement does not encompass the indirect discrimination(when policies or actions that appear neutral, or do not include any explicit racial, religious,or other grounds for differential treatment, in fact produce disproportionate outcomesfor certain minority groups) that is often at the heart of ethnic profiling patterns.GREECERequirement to Investigate Racist IntentFollowing the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Bekosand Koutropoulos v. Greece, 112 the National Directorate of the Police adopted a circularin June 2006 which requires that officers conducting administrative inquiries intoviolations of police ethics involving persons belonging to vulnerable ethnic, religious,or social groups (such as the Roma or foreigners) investigate whether the policebehavior was motivated by a racist intent.Internal complaints mechanisms are often viewed with considerable mistrust bycitizens in many countries due to a perceived lack of independence and impartiality. Thishas led to the creation of mixed internal (law enforcement) and external (civilian) oversightbodies, as well as specialized independent external oversight of law enforcement.External bodies can receive and investigate individual complaints and may also providebroader law enforcement oversight by monitoring patterns of police practice that mayindicate ethnic profiling. They can often issue recommendations for policy changes toenable improved monitoring or put in place mechanisms to address ethnic profiling.Independent Complaints Mechanisms and CivilReview BodiesMany EU member states have established both national equality bodies and specializedpolice complaint or oversight bodies that are independent of the police. Such mechanismsplay an important role in identifying and drawing attention to discriminatorylaw enforcement practices and recommending specific remedies. Experts often arguethat independent bodies are more effective than internal mechanisms because of their56 OVERSIGHT BODIES AND COMPLAINTS MECHANISMS
greater autonomy. In the US, scholars have questioned this and found that an auditormodel in which an external expert oversees internal processes has a greater impact onpolice practices than civilian review boards that conduct their own investigations. 113Across Europe, there is significant variety in their ambit to address complaintsagainst law enforcement officers (police, immigration and customs officers, and borderguards). In some cases, oversight bodies can address most of these authorities, but donot have jurisdiction in the realm of counter-terrorism. A rare exception, the BelgianStanding Intelligence Agencies Review Committee (Committee I), does provide externaloversight of intelligence (a function most commonly performed by a special parliamentarycommittee), but it does not look at conduct or discrimination issues. 114 It focuses ratheron the legitimacy, effectiveness, and coordination of the work of intelligence services.It is essential that ethnic minorities be made aware of such complaints bodiesand the complaints process. Created in 2007, Ireland’s Garda Ombudsman (GSOC)undertook a targeted outreach during its first year of functioning to “new communities”of recent immigrants and Travellers. GSOC staff reached out to community organizationsand attended community gatherings, providing the following information on theGSOC and its procedures.The United Kingdom has an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) thatinvestigates serious complaints and allegations of misconduct and can make policyrecommendations. The IPCC has overall responsibility for the police complaintssystem, and is charged by law with increasing public confidence in the policecomplaints system in England and Wales. The IPCC is an independent body autonomousfrom the police, government, and complainants.The IPCC investigates the most serious complaints and allegations of misconductagainst the police in England and Wales, as well as handling appeals from people whoare not satisfied with the way police have dealt with their complaint. In February 2008,its jurisdiction was extended to include United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA).In addition to external civilian oversight of law enforcement, two other modelsexist in Europe. Sweden, Denmark, and Norway have special officers attached to theProsecutor General who receive and investigate complaints against police officers. InDenmark, however, “petty complaints” are dealt with at the police station where they arereported, leaving open the possibility that complaints against discriminatory stop-andsearchencounters and other examples of ethnic profiling will never progress beyondan internal review. The Netherlands has established a hybrid internal-external model ofREDUCING ETHNIC PROFILING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 57
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OPEN SOCIETY JUSTICE INITIATIVERedu
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described in this report. The case
Page 9 and 10: List of Case StudiesThe case studie
Page 11 and 12: UNITED KINGDOMAUSTRIA/BELGIUM/BULGA
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Page 16 and 17: The United Nations, the Council of
Page 19 and 20: I. Ethnic Profiling DefinedA Compre
Page 21 and 22: The use by the police, with no obje
Page 23 and 24: explicitly on their membership in a
Page 25 and 26: of the persons subjected thereto sh
Page 27 and 28: The impact of ethnic profiling on c
Page 29 and 30: of the ethnic minorities disproport
Page 31 and 32: II. A Holistic Approachto Reducing
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Page 35 and 36: III. Legal Standards andInstitution
Page 37 and 38: Criminal and Administrative Legal R
Page 39 and 40: ImmigrationThe Equality Act covers
Page 41 and 42: FRANCEObligation of Non-Discriminat
Page 43 and 44: General principles of good practice
Page 45 and 46: UNITED KINGDOMPolice and Criminal E
Page 47 and 48: has lasted for an hour, the examini
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Page 51 and 52: the person could pose a threat to p
Page 53 and 54: Improving law enforcement relations
Page 55: IRELANDPolicing Plan 2008The Garda
Page 60 and 61: complaints commissions that include
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Page 66 and 67: These case studies also demonstrate
Page 68 and 69: NETHERLANDSNational OmbudsmanThe Du
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Page 72 and 73: DENMARKThe Danish Institute of Huma
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Page 78 and 79: used, such as those described below
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Page 82 and 83: UNITED KINGDOMMerseyside Police Rev
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Page 96 and 97: UNITED STATESAttitudinal Survey of
Page 98 and 99: UNITED KINGDOMThe Views of the Publ
Page 100 and 101: NORTHERN IRELANDBeyond the Margins:
Page 102 and 103: DENMARKMedia Reporting of Police St
Page 105 and 106: VI. Strategies for Reducing EthnicD
Page 107 and 108: people were stopped and valuable po
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only do so if the measure is determ
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Supervision and Oversight of Front-
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This is not to say that stop forms
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• Recording of self-defined ethni
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UNITED KINGDOM“Know Your Rights
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Prior to the ride-alongs, many Hung
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General principles of good practice
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UNITED KINGDOMMonitoring the Qualit
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GREECEProhibition of Racist Languag
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This handbook recommends that law e
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Where possible, training should inc
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SWEDENPolice and Youth Sharing Expe
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Training in the Counter-radicalizat
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VIII. Changing Institutional Cultur
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and Wales have used the package. Mo
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NORTHERN IRELANDCreating a More Bal
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Moroccan man. Another minority offi
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other characteristics or values. Co
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Take steps to ensure that all parts
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Law enforcement agencies must be se
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A large number of Polish migrants h
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variety of individuals with “life
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UNITED KINGDOMCommunity Stop and Se
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their needs, and problems, and hear
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to travel as far as Liverpool to ac
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The strategy includes multiple init
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The website provides an interactive
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Appendix A:Sample Stop Forms171
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REDUCING ETHNIC PROFILING IN THE EU
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Fuenlabrada, Spain Stop FormREDUCIN
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West Yorkshire Police Stop ReceiptR
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Covenant rights that are especially
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• Necessity: The use of ethnic pr
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The clear risk of arbitrariness in
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The Committee considers that identi
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adopted on June 29, 2007, CRI/Counc
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European Union Fundamental Rights A
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Notes1. Rebekah Delsol, Open Societ
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13. A report of MI5’s behavioral
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38. From the email text sent by Tem
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57. R. Davis and P. Mateu-Gelabert,
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88. Gillan and Quinton v. United Ki
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Ireland). Of the total number of co
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139. For example, European Commissi
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165. Open Society Justice Initiativ
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197. These can be found at: http://
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230. More information can be found
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266. To undertake this kind of anal
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279. In Rosalind Williams, Spanish
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Ethnic profiling by police in Europ
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