11/20/08

Police Racism & African Youth in Melbourne

Shortly after Liep Gony was killed in Noble Park last year, a group of African people, including people from the Sudanese community, approached the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commision, asking them to do conduct an inquiry into racism experienced by African Young People in the City of Greater Dandenong.

In response, the VEOHRC is currently undertaking the 'African Young People Research Project' in the City of Greater Dandenong. The report will be handed down sometime in the next couple of months.

The Southern Ethnic Advisory and Advocacy Council (SEAAC) prepared a submssion to VEOHRC regarding Police discrimination against African Young People in the City of Greater Dandenong.
Young people commonly report a general feeling

that the police treat them unfairly because of their race. The most commonly reported
specific complaints are:

• Young people being regularly stopped and questioned by Police in public,
sometimes up to several times in a single day.

• Police asking young people to ‘move on’ without citing a legitimate reason.

• Racist comments being made by Police.

• Young people being searched in public.

• Police refusing to submit their details if young people request them. This request
often acts as a trigger for police aggression.

• Police refusing to respect young people’s right to silence — beyond submitting
name and address. Again young people asserting this right to silence often acts
as a trigger for Police aggression.

Full Report follows:



3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Australians obviously haven't learnt from the UK or Canada. Africans are unfortunately overrepresented in crime. The Australians are now heading down the multiculturalism path so these tensions will no doubt increase.

Anonymous said...

That comment is bullshit, the Australian police are just as racist as the Canadian & UK police.

viagra online said...

This is not only happening in Melbourne, is around all Australia that is problem is growing. I feel sad when I see this, because I feel that we are going back on time, when the continents and different cultures were completely divided.