COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON POLICING RACIST CRIME AND VIOLENCE

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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON POLICING RACIST CRIME AND
VIOLENCE
Dr Robin Oakley Independent Consultant
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CONTEXT

• Follows Report on Racist Violence in the EU15
• Focuses specifically on response of police (EU25)

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METHODOLOGY

• Rapid Response Survey
• October 2004
• Short questionnaire
• National Focal Points (NFPs)
• Twenty five Member States
• Respond within fourteen days
• Provides snapshot overview

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SCOPE

1. police recording practices for racist crimes
2. responsibility for establishing racial motivation
3. police responses to victims of racist crimes
4. training provision for the police to respond to
   racist crimes
5. police engagement with civil society

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MAIN FINDING

• In the majority of Member States police responses
  
• to racist crime and violence require further
• development to make them effective.

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SPECIFIC FINDINGS

• Approaches differ widely between Member States
• A minority show examples of good practice
• Often only specific or local-level initiatives
• General lack of comprehensive policing response
  to racist violence
• UK shows the most comprehensive policing approach
• France, Germany and Sweden also show serious
  commitment

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SPECIFIC FINDINGS (continued)

• No provision for recording racial motivation in
  crime generally in most States
• Information on ethnicity of victims/offenders
  rarely recorded
• Support for victims of racist crime needs to be
  strengthened
• Few states had specialist training in place
• Many initiatives just address multiculturalism
  and racism generally
• Police engagement with civil society needs to be
  further developed

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ACTIONS AT MEMBER STATE LEVEL

• Need for adequate legal and policy framework
• Police leadership to show commitment
• Requirement on police to record racial
  motivation in crime
• Statistical analysis of all racially-motivated
  crime
• Procedural guidance for police on response to
  racist crime
• Specialist training to be provided, with input
  from NGOs
• Specialist posts to be established at
  national/local levels
• Mechanisms to encourage/facilitate reporting of
  racist crime

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ACTIONS AT E.U. LEVEL

• Need for further in-depth research on policing
  responses
• Urgent need for comparative victim survey across
  Member States
• Legislation to require Member States to have
  adequate law on racist crime
• Should include requirement on police to record
  racial motivation
• Funded programme to support strengthening of
  police response
• To include support for NGO participation
• Transnational events to exchange
  experience/promote good practice
• Actions to be coordinated with work of other
  international bodies

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Thank you for your attention