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

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esponses, and in some cases, broad questions addressing trust and confidence in publicinstitutions including law enforcement agencies. In 2011 and 2012, the “Eurojustissurvey” was conducted in 26 countries across the EU and included questions on trustand legitimacy of law enforcement and the courts.Surveys can also include questions designed to capture individuals’ experienceswith law enforcement such as when the person last had contact with law enforcement;whether that contact was initiated by the civilian or the officer; what the outcome was;the conduct of the encounter; and the persons’ satisfaction with the encounter. 170The London Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) undertakes a number of publicopinion surveys to assess public concerns about crime and satisfaction with policeaction. The largest survey is the MPS Public Attitudes Survey (PAS), which collectsdata annually from around 20,000 individuals using face-to-face interviews with a representativesample of Londoners. This survey has included a booster sample of 1,000men aged 18–30 from minority ethnic backgrounds, asking questions focused on issuesaround stops and searches, procedural justice, and police legitimacy.In 2010, the EU Fundamental Rights Agency released the results of a survey onminorities’ experiences of policing in the European Union. The study, described in thecase study below, also examined experiences of police treatment and perceptions ofethnic profiling. 171AUSTRIA, BELGIUM, BULGARIA, ITALY, ROMANIA, AND SLOVAKIAFRA Survey on Minorities’ Experiences of Law EnforcementSeeking to address the current lack of ethnic data in EU victim surveys, the FRA initiatedsurveys designed to assess ethnic minorities’ experiences of victimization andlaw enforcement. In 2006-2007, the FRA undertook a pilot victim survey of ethnicminorities in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy, Romania, and Slovakia.The FRA survey included questions on respondents’ experiences of being stoppedby the police. Ethnic minorities in Italy reported very high rates of pedestrian stops,as did the Roma surveyed in Bulgaria, Romania, and Slovakia. Stops rarely resultedin arrests, regardless of ethnic group or country location. In fact, across the wholesample less than one percent of those stopped were then arrested. In all countries,Roma reported the most negative experiences of stops. They reported that they hadbeen stopped because of their minority status, and that they were treated worse thanthe majority population. Ethnic minorities in Italy reported similar negative feelings.Roma and ethnic minorities in Italy also tended to be the least likely to report beingsatisfied with their experience of being stopped.92 ETHNIC MONITORING AND LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA-GATHERING
The ability of such surveys to draw any definitive conclusions about the existenceand extent of ethnic profiling practices depends on whether there are comparator majoritypopulation groups against which the experience of minority groups can be comparedand assessed.Not all surveys are large-scale and high cost. Smaller surveys can also be targetedto specific groups and issues. The Irish and American case studies below show howsurveys may be used to identify the experiences with law enforcement of specific ethnicgroups and assess what kinds of problems may exist.IRELANDAttitudinal Survey of Traveller and Ethnic Minority CommunitiesBetween December 2006 and May 2007, the Garda Research Unit conducted a Traveller/EthnicMinority Communities Attitudes Survey (TEMCAS) focused on satisfactionwith Garda service, policing priorities and experiences, and fear of crime. Thesurvey was conducted through face-to-face interviews and postal questionnaires. Justover 600 interviews were completed with approximately 200 interviews among eachof the following groups: Travellers, migrants, and asylum seekers and refugees.Although it was not a principle focus of the TEMCAS, the survey inquired aboutethnic profiling practices. One question asked was: “Has a Garda ever behavedtowards you in a way you consider unacceptable?” Respondents were then askedto specify the nature of any unacceptable behavior amongst a list of possibilities,including: “stopped or searched without reason;” “harassed;” “discriminated dueto age, gender, race or ethnicity;” “searched house without reason;” and “madewrongful accusation.” Forty-three percent of Travellers, 12 percent of asylum seekersand refugees, and six percent of other migrants reported that a Garda had behavedin an unacceptable manner. Of all such incidents reported in the survey, six percentinvolved stops and searches “without reason;” six percent harassment; 12 percentdiscrimination due to age, gender, race, or ethnicity; seven percent house searches“without reason;” and nine percent wrongful accusations. 172 Unfortunately, the surveyhas not been repeated, so it is not possible to determine whether these attitudeshave changed over time.REDUCING ETHNIC PROFILING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION 93
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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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III. Legal Standards andInstitution
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Criminal and Administrative Legal R
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ImmigrationThe Equality Act covers
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FRANCEObligation of Non-Discriminat
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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 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 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 117 and 118: UNITED KINGDOM“Know Your Rights
Page 119 and 120: Prior to the ride-alongs, many Hung
Page 121 and 122: General principles of good practice
Page 123 and 124: UNITED KINGDOMMonitoring the Qualit
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
Page 134 and 135: Training in the Counter-radicalizat
Page 137 and 138: VIII. Changing Institutional Cultur
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Page 141 and 142: NORTHERN IRELANDCreating a More Bal
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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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