Police and Roma and Sinti: Good Practices in Building Trust and Understanding SPMU Publication Series Vol. 9 The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) works for stability, prosperity and democracy in 56 States through political dialogue about shared values and through practical work that makes a lasting difference. Vienna, April 2010 © OSCE 2010 All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may be freely used and copied for educational and other non-commercial purposes, provided that any such reproduction is accompanied by an acknowledgement of the OSCE as the source. ISBN 978-92-9234-509-9 Strategic Police Matters Contact Point for Roma and Office of the Secretary General Sinti Issues OSCE Secretariat OSCE ODIHR Wallnerstrasse 6, Al. Ujazdowskie 19 1010 Vienna, Austria 00-557 Warsaw, Poland Tel: +43-1 514 36 6942 Tel: +48-22 5200 798 Fax: +43-1 514 36 6266 Fax: +48-22 5200 605 E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] http://www.osce.org/policing http://www.osce.org/odihr/18148.html http://polis.osce.org 2 Table of Contents Abbreviations and Acronyms .................................................................6 Glossary / Clarification of Terms............................................................7 Preface..................................................................................................9 Acknowledgements .............................................................................11 Executive Summary.............................................................................15 I. Introduction.................................................................................23 II. The Safety and Security Situation of Roma and Sinti in the OSCE Area.................................................................................29 II.1 Racial Discrimination, Hate-Motivated Incidents and Hate Crime..................................................................................29 II.2 Challenging Relations between the Police and Roma and Sinti ..31 II.2.1 Examples of under-policing ..........................................32 II.2.2 Examples of over-policing.............................................33 II.3 The Quest for Improved Policing of Roma and Sinti Communities.......................................................................34 III. Good Practices in Building Trust and Understanding between the Police and Roma and Sinti....................................................41 III.1 Systematic Assessment of Policing Policy and Practice Relating to Roma and Sinti .......................................................................42 III.1.1 Establishing the policy framework:................................43 III.1.2 Identifying the scope of the assessment .......................45 III.1.3 Identifying the standards...............................................46 III.1.4 Obtaining the evidence.................................................46 3 III.1.5 Assessing the gaps ......................................................48 III.1.6 Developing an action plan ............................................49 III.2. Development of Legislation, Policies, Codes of Ethics and Conduct, and Standard Operating Procedures............................51 III.2.1 Development of legislation ...........................................51 III.2.2 Development of policies ...............................................52 III.2.3 Development of codes of ethics and conduct and standard operating procedures .............................56 III.2.4 Implementation of policies, codes of conduct and standard operating procedures .............................60 III.3 Human Resource Management ..................................................61 III.3.1 Recruitment..................................................................62 III.3.2 Retention......................................................................68 III.3.3 Promotion and career development..............................69 III.4 Training and Professional Development......................................72 III.4.1 Aim and objectives of training.......................................73 III.4.2 Content of training with regard to Roma and Sinti communities .................................................................74 III.4.3 Training methods..........................................................80 III.4.4 Requirements of implementation..................................82 III.5 Engaging with Roma and Sinti Communities: .............................84 III.5.1 Building partnerships....................................................86 III.5.2 Conducting police operations .......................................95 III.5.3 Ensuring accountability with regard to police actions..106 IV. Conclusions and Recommendations.........................................108 V. References ...............................................................................111 V.1 International Documents...........................................................111 V.2 Bibliography..............................................................................115 4 VI. Appendices...............................................................................125 Appendix 1: Examples of International Initiatives and Instruments to Address the Security Situation of Roma and Sinti .....................125 Appendix 2: Systematic Assessment of Policing Policy and Practice Relating to Roma: Guidance for Use in OSCE Participating States........................131 Appendix 3: Generic Policy Screening Framework ............................139 Appendix 4: The Stop Form Used in Fuenlabrada, Spain. .................140 5 Abbreviations and Acronyms CAG Citizens Advisory Group CPRSI Contact Point for Roma and Sinti Issues CSAT Community Safety Action Team CSCE Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe ECHR European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms ECRI European Commission against Racism and Intolerance ECHR European Convention on Human Rights ECtHR European Court of Human Rights EPPHR European Platform for Policing and Human Rights ERPC European Roma Policy Coalition ERRC European Roma Rights Centre EU European Union EU-MIDIS European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey FAERLEO Fraternal Association of European Roma Law Enforcement Officers FRA Fundamental Rights Agency HCNM High Commissioner on National Minorities ICITAP International Criminal Investigations Assistance Training Program IDP Internally Displaced Person MIA Ministry of Interior and Administration MoI Ministry of the Interior MoU Memorandum of Understanding NGO Non-Governmental Organization ODIHR Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe PER Project on Ethnic Relations SARA Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment SPMU Strategic Police Matters Unit STEPSS Strategies for Effective Police Stop and Search UN United Nations 6 Glossary / Clarification of Terms Roma and Sinti: In line with OSCE practice, this book uses the term “Roma and Sinti”. The Council of Europe uses the term “Roma and Travellers”, whereas the European Union uses “Roma”. These terms are all-encompassing for other generic terms with which Roma and Sinti are often associated with, such as “Gypsies” and derivations of the term “Tsigane”. Where country specific examples are given, the terms used are those particular to the group’s preferred term in the respective country. Ethnic profiling: “Ethnic profiling” is defined as when police officers, with no objective and reasonable justification, use the characteristics of race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin rather than behaviour as the basis for making decisions about who has been or may be involved in criminal activity when they conduct search and control, surveillance or investigation activities. (Cf. Open Society Institute, Addressing Ethnic Profiling by Police. A Report on the Strategies for Effective Police Stop and Search Project, New York 2009, p. 9; and European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), ECRI General Policy Recommendation No. 11 on Combating Racism and Racial Discrimination in Policing, CRI(2007)39, Strasbourg 2007, Para. 1). Hate crime: This is a criminal offence committed with a bias motive. This means that the perpetrator intentionally chose the target of the crime because of some protected characteristic. The target may be one or more people, or it may be property associated with a group that shares a particular characteristic. A protected characteristic is a characteristic shared by a group, such as “race”, language, religion, ethnicity, nationality, or any other similar common factor. (Source: OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Hate Crime Laws: A Practical Guide, Warsaw 2009, p.16). Hate-motivated incidents: These are defined as “[i]ncidents, acts or manifestations of intolerance committed with a bias motive that may not reach the threshold of hate crimes, either because criminal offense was not proven or because the act may not have been criminal offense under a particular state’s legislation.” (Source: OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, Hate Crime Report 2008, Warsaw 2009, p. 11). 7 Over-policing: “Over-policing” occurs when greater attention is given to crimes allegedly committed by members of particular minority communities or ethnic groups, or when powers are used more harshly against such persons. (Cf. Oakley, Robin, “Police Training Concerning Migrants and National