People perceived as foreigners are checked more frequently
According to a study, people in Germany who are perceived as foreign by their fellow citizens have to expect more frequent checks by the police than those who are not. "Our data show that there is an imbalance in police checks in public spaces," said Maximilian Müller, author of the representative study published on Wednesday by the Expert Council on Integration and Migration (SVR), "Racial profiling in police checks".
The results are "an indication that racial profiling exists in Germany", said Maximilian Müller. However, according to the researchers, they do not provide conclusive proof. Co-author Alex Wittlif, for example, pointed out an effect that, in his opinion, could not be "extrapolated out" despite the complex study design. He said: "Crime hotspots, which are generally more frequently policed, are often located in socially disadvantaged neighborhoods with a high proportion of immigrants and their descendants."
The term "racial profiling" is used when people are stopped by the police solely on the basis of their physical appearance or ethnic characteristics. Such unequal treatment violates the constitutional ban on discrimination.
Significant differences depending on appearance
One of the most striking results of the survey was that 18.4 percent of men aged between 15 and 34 who, in their own estimation, are perceived as foreign by their peers due to external characteristics, reported that they had been checked by the police in the past twelve months. According to the SVR, only 11.9 percent of young men who were perceived by those around them as having no foreign roots had been checked.
In order to avoid false causalities, the researchers explicitly asked the people who were surveyed for the SVR Integration Barometer between November 2021 and July 2022 whether or not they were perceived as having a migrant background due to their appearance - for example because of their skin color or clothing. This is because whether someone has a certain name or speaks German with an accent is often not recognizable to police officers at the moment they begin their checks. Checks in private rooms or accommodation were also not taken into account.
Control receipts planned
Anyone who feels that they have been checked by the federal police without cause will in future be able to request a so-called control receipt from the officers. This has been agreed by the traffic light coalition. However, there has not yet been a cabinet decision on the amendment to the Federal Police Act into which this is to be incorporated. For example, the place, time and reason for the identity check should be noted on the receipt. The SVR suggests that such control receipts should also be introduced for police officers in the federal states. So far, this only exists in Bremen. The police trade union (GdP) considers the control receipt to be superfluous and fears that it would create a considerable administrative burden.
Most police officers do an exemplary job, emphasized the Federal Government Commissioner for Anti-Racism, Reem Alabalil-Radovan. However, the SVR's figures made it clear that experiences with racial profiling in contact with the police were not isolated cases. These experiences led to a loss of trust, the SPD politician told the German Press Agency. She had campaigned for the ban on racial discrimination enshrined in the Basic Law to be included in the new Federal Police Act, which is soon to be passed by the cabinet, as well as the right to issue a control receipt. However, the majority of police checks are carried out in the federal states and not by the federal police. It is therefore now the responsibility of the federal states to initiate the same for their police forces.
Despite the findings indicating racial profiling in police checks, co-author Alex Wittlif underscores that the study design doesn't allow for a definitive conclusion due to factors like crime hotspots located in socially disadvantaged areas with a high immigrant population.
Frequent police checks were reported by 18.4% of young men perceived as foreign based on their appearance, compared to 11.9% of those not perceived as foreign in the same study.
Source: www.dpa.com
