In response to this storySome of my cops are racist - police chief
From: AAP March 16, 2010 12:00PM
VICTORIA'S police chief admits there is racism in his force, after an explosive report accused his officers of taunting and bashing African youth.
But Chief Commissioner Simon Overland insists the racist element in Victoria Police is not stronger than in the general public and he is working hard to stamp out such attitudes.
Police officers are accused of labelling young African men "monkey" and "black c..t", taking photographs of them gathered on the streets for intelligence purposes and, in one case, taking off their uniforms to bash black men in a public park.
He vowed that if the bashing allegation, contained in a report from Springvale Monash Legal Service, was true, those involved would be investigated and charged.
"Racist attitudes held by members of Victoria Police - that is not okay," he said.
"Acting on those racial attitudes is clearly not okay and where we find it people can expect that I will deal with them in the strongest possible terms."
Mr Overland said his message that racism is unacceptable was getting through to most officers.
"The vast majority of my staff actually understand that message all too well and in fact not only understand it, they are not racist," he said.
"They absolutely understand their responsibilities to the community."
Mr Overland said new police powers to randomly search people for weapons in public places helped officers' relationships with ethnic communities.
"It means we can designate areas and people coming into those areas can be searched without cause," he said.
"I think that's helpful because it means there can be no suggestion that we are actually racially profiling people or targeting people in an indiscriminate way.
"We will be designating those areas on the basis of ... information that we have that says knives are carried in those areas."
Mr Overland said the force was examining its policies in an effort to broaden the base from within which it recruits, including from African communities.
He said it was unfair the legal service had issued a media release containing elements of the allegations on yesterday but was holding back the full report until Thursday.
"If they are going to make quite damning statements about Victoria Police I think it's only proper that we be given fair warning and fair notice and an adequate opportunity to respond."
That Indian cartoon with the police officer dressed in a Ku Klux Klan uniform saying there is no racism just looked more accurate. Will the Indian newspaper which published that satirical cartoon get an apology now that the chief has actually admitted there is racism?'Racist' Victorian police target Africans, says Springvale Monash Legal Service
Steve Lillebuen From: Herald Sun March 15, 2010 7:22PM Increase Text Size Decrease Text Size Print Email Share Add to Digg Add to del.icio.us Add to Facebook Add to Kwoff Add to Myspace Add to Newsvine What are these?
AFRICAN youths have been racially targeted, taunted and bashed by police across Melbourne, according to an explosive report.
Victoria Police officers are accused of labelling young African men "monkey" and "black c---", taking photographs of them gathered on the streets for intelligence purposes and, in one case, taking off their uniforms to bash black men in a public park.
Police routinely target young Africans by repeatedly arresting and questioning them about crimes, the report by a legal service says, and demand youths give their names and addresses to officers several times each day.
When young Africans complain, front-line officers increase random searches and questioning, the report says.
"It's horrible, humiliating," says Aran Brown, an 18-year-old African refugee who says he has experienced discrimination in Melbourne.
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Police have randomly pulled him off the street and questioned him about break-ins and drug activity, he says, so he now runs away when he sees an officer.
The last time he ran, a police officer followed him.
"He started chasing me and when he caught up to me he said: 'Wogs are faster than niggers'," the teenager told AAP near his home in a high-rise housing commission flat in Flemington on Monday.
"If a cop can say that to me, who can I complain to? What do you do when it's the police who are harassing you?"
Mr Brown's account of his experiences match those compiled for the damning 35-page report, to be released to the public on Thursday.
Written by the Springvale Monash Legal Service, the report focuses on Melbourne suburbs with high African populations - Flemington, Dandenong and Braybrook.
Thirty young Africans and eight community workers were interviewed for the report, which also compiled information gathered from community service workers over the past 15 months.
Helen Yandell, the legal service's director, says it took months to convince African youths to come forward with their stories. Many have lost faith in the police force and fear retribution, she says.
"We're talking about three major areas where young people live," she told AAP.
"It, therefore, has to be looked at as a systematic failure rather than the actions of a few bad cops."
In one 2009 incident included in the report, police asked a group of young Africans to leave a public space, she said.
The group refused. The officers eventually left, but allegedly returned later, but they were not wearing their uniforms and began assaulting them, the report said.
Police must admit there is a racist element among its ranks, she said.
A Victoria Police statement said the force was "disappointed" by the allegations.
The statement says officers work tirelessly to build relationships and trust among African communities.
"Victoria Police expects its members to take a fair and professional approach when policing the community," the statement says.
"Our key focus is on crime, not specific cultural groups. We have various checks and balances in place to ensure the conduct of our members is appropriate."
The report will recommend that officers are trained in de-escalating conflict and call for an improved complaints procedure so Africans can come forward without fear of retribution.
Berhan Ahmed, chairman of the African Think Tank, said the situation had improved since 2007 when Sudanese refugee Liep Gony was fatally bashed in Noble Park.
"It was really bad back then. But we've since been working to improve our relationship," he said.
"I can't say we've done everything, but without a doubt there has been progress."
No doubt we will have people whining that its no worse than the general community, until you release that you aren't comparing it to a very high standard in the first place.
