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

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As the above examples indicate, data can play a key role in assessing the effectivenessof law enforcement operations like identity checks and stops and searches, andtheir impact on specific groups. Such data can also support improved targeting of theuse of these powers. Studies indicate that in order to be effective, police should targetstops based on up-to-date intelligence on current crime patterns, observations of objectivelysuspicious behavior, and police-community dialogue. 153 High discretion stops,such as the preventive searches in the Netherlands (examined below), tend to have alow productivity rate and often have a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities. 154NETHERLANDSStudy of Preventive Stop PowersA 2005 Dutch study of the efficiency of preventive searches for weapons in eightDutch cities examined data from 187 preventive search operations conducted from2002 to 2004 in the cities of Amsterdam, Maastricht, Haarlemmermeer, Den Helder,Rotterdam, Heerlen, Utrecht, and Tilburg. The study recorded the cost of the policyin terms of officer-hours and resources.During these operations, 79,499 persons were searched and 2,010 weapons werefound, of which 68 percent were stabbing weapons, 16.8 percent striking weapons,and 2.6 percent firearms.Overall, the study found that the searches disproportionately targeted minorities andthat for every 1,000 people searched, 25 weapons were detected—and this figure wassomewhat inflated by the inclusion of items such as penknives. 155 The cost in termsof police hours spent was extremely high—54 operations in Amsterdam took nearly12,000 hours of police time; resource costs were similarly high for equally limitedresults in Rotterdam. 156 The amount of police time dedicated to these operations—and the low rate of success—show why such large-scale, high-discretion actions areineffective: they foster ethnic profiling while largely failing to uncover crime.Sharing Data with CommunitiesIt is a core principle in gathering statistical ethnic data for law enforcement that theresults should be made public. Particularly given ongoing concerns in many ethnicminority groups regarding the use and potential abuse of ethnic statistics, it is essentialthat ethnic monitoring systems be introduced with the knowledge, consent, and pref-84 ETHNIC MONITORING AND LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA-GATHERING
erably participation of all stakeholders—minority communities and the general public,as well as the law enforcement agencies involved.Each year, the United Kingdom publishes national stop and search statistics,including data from all 43 police forces in England and Wales. This has focused politicaland media attention on the issues of ethnic disproportionality in stops and searches,while also enabling comparisons between different police forces and agencies. At thelocal level, data can be used a basis for community meetings and dialogue. Havingthe data available at a local level in Fuenlabrada, Spain allowed an honest discussionbetween the police and the public regarding patterns of policing, security trends, andlaw enforcement effectiveness. It ultimately resulted in the cancelling of an operationwhich was having a disproportionate impact on one community with no demonstrableoperational effect. 157UNITED KINGDOMSection 95 DataSince 1992, the United Kingdom’s Home Office and Ministry of Justice havepublished statistical information on how members of the black and ethnic minority(BME) communities in England and Wales are represented in the Criminal JusticeSystem. This reporting is required under Section 95 of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.The reports are published annually and are available on the internet. They analyze theposition of BME communities as victims, suspects, offenders, and practitioners inthe criminal justice system, and help law enforcement and judicial authorities avoiddiscrimination on the grounds of race or ethnicity.The annual reports include a section on stops and searches, which looks at the totalnumbers of stops and searches, the rate of stops and searches per thousand ofthe population, the reasons for stops and searches, and the number of arrests thatresulted from the stops and searches. Each variable is disaggregated by geographicarea, self-defined and officer-defined ethnicity, and the legal power used.In addition to monitoring through data gathering using stop forms, relevant datacan be obtained through periodic examination of police data or through special studies.In Slovenia, for example, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner onRefugees (UNHCR) has contracted researchers to examine asylum decision-making,looking at issues such as why no Chechens have received refugee status in Slovenia.In Austria, the UNCHR is undertaking a research initiative to analyze first-instancedecision-making in asylum cases.REDUCING ETHNIC PROFILING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 85
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OPEN SOCIETY JUSTICE INITIATIVERedu
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described in this report. The case
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List of Case StudiesThe case studie
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UNITED KINGDOMAUSTRIA/BELGIUM/BULGA
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UNITED KINGDOMUNITED KINGDOMNETHERL
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The United Nations, the Council of
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I. Ethnic Profiling DefinedA Compre
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The use by the police, with no obje
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explicitly on their membership in a
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of the persons subjected thereto sh
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The impact of ethnic profiling on c
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of the ethnic minorities disproport
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II. A Holistic Approachto Reducing
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Law enforcement agencies are accoun
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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
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Page 78 and 79: used, such as those described below
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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
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Page 107 and 108: people were stopped and valuable po
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Page 111 and 112: Supervision and Oversight of Front-
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Page 117 and 118: UNITED KINGDOM“Know Your Rights
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Page 125: GREECEProhibition of Racist Languag
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Page 130 and 131: Where possible, training should inc
Page 132 and 133: SWEDENPolice and Youth Sharing Expe
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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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General principles of good practice
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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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