If you thought racist cops were just a UK-issue, wait until you hear about the EU

The EU rights agency on Wednesday 10 April called for reforms “to stamp out racism in policing” across the bloc, including collecting data better to assess the problem. Of course, the UK was one of the countries writing the manual when it comes to racist cops. Just ask the Met Police.

Racist cops infesting the EU

People of different ethnic backgrounds experience racist comments, more frequent stops and even violence, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) found in its first comprehensive EU-wide study on racism in policing.

Among its recommendations was the better collection of data. It said:

most EU countries do not collect official data on racist incidents involving the police or they do not record them properly. The lack of national data makes it difficult to fully assess the magnitude of the problem and design effective responses.

Only the Czech Republic, Germany, and the Netherlands publish data regularly or upon request. The report also found a lack of recruitment policies to improve ethnic diversity.

FRA director Sirpa Rautio said:

Incidents of ethnic profiling and excessive use of force are expressions of racism in policing that EU countries need to address. We call on EU countries and police authorities to take urgent action to stamp out racism in policing.

FRA also noted that racism in policing has “far-reaching effects, fuelling social exclusion and harming trust in police forces”.

In a report last year, FRA found Black people in the 27 EU countries face increasing levels of discrimination, with nearly half, or 45%, of respondents in an EU survey saying they have been affected by racism, up from 39% in 2016.

The highest levels of discrimination were found in Germany and Austria, where over 70% of those surveyed said they are exposed to racism.

The UK wrote the manual for racist policing

Meanwhile, in the UK as the Canary’s Maryam Jameela previously reported, a review into the Metropolitan police has found the force to be institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic.

The report, written by government official Louise Casey, was commissioned after serving Met police officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard. Since then another officer, David Carrick, has also been jailed for life for dozens of rapes and sexual assaults stretching back two decades. Furthermore, many other Met scandals have emerged.

Casey found a pervasive culture of “deep-seated homophobia” and predatory behaviour, in which female officers and staff “routinely face sexism and misogyny”. She also warned that the force could still be employing rapists and murderers. Additionally, Casey found that violence against women and girls has not been treated seriously enough by the majority white and male force.

Casey’s conclusions come nearly 25 years after the Macpherson Report. That report was triggered by the murder of Black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993. Even a quarter of a century ago the force was found to be institutionally racist, with dozens of reforms recommended.

Featured image via NetPol