COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS ON
POLICING RACIST CRIME AND
VIOLENCE
Dr Robin Oakley
Independent Consultant
CONTEXT
Follows Report on ‘Racist Violence in the EU15’
Focuses specifically on response of police (EU25)
METHODOLOGY
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Rapid Response Survey
October 2004
Short questionnaire
National Focal Points (NFPs)
Twenty five Member States
Respond within fourteen days
Provides ‘snapshot’ overview
SCOPE
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police recording practices for racist crimes
responsibility for establishing racial motivation
police responses to victims of racist crimes
training provision for the police to respond to
racist crimes
5. police engagement with civil society
MAIN FINDING
In the majority of Member States police responses
to racist crime and violence require further
development to make them effective.
SPECIFIC FINDINGS
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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
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
ACTIONS AT MEMBER STATE LEVEL
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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
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
Thank you for your attention