German police methods foster bias, racial profiling, study finds
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The findings indicate that ethnic minorities, especially those perceived as migrants, are disproportionately targeted in police patrols, risk assessments and interactions in Germany.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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BERLIN - German police practices foster systemic discrimination, with officers routinely engaging in racial profiling and relying on ethnic stereotypes, according to a study by an online portal that tracks data on immigration and asylum.
The study, published on Monday by Mediendienst Integration, comes amid concerns among activists about increasing racism in Germany and the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
In routine police work, ethnic minorities, especially those perceived as migrants, are disproportionately targeted in patrols, risk assessments and police interactions, found the study, which was conducted in Germany’s western state of Lower Saxony.
There was no immediate response from the German Interior Ministry on the study.
The findings indicate that officers often rely on racial markers rather than behaviour when conducting proactive patrols.
People perceived as “Black Africans” or “Albanians” are often associated with drug crimes, leading to heightened police attention, it added.
Other groups, like southern Europeans, Russians and so-called “clan” members, are labelled more violent or uncooperative, the study found, prompting an exaggerated police response.
The research, conducted by two professors from the Lower Saxony Police Academy, also found that officers often assume hostility or disrespect from young men of Arab or Turkish descent, as well as politically left-leaning individuals, resulting in harsher treatment.
Such assumptions lead to over-policing, with a larger force deployed for situations involving these groups, regardless of the actual threat level, in addition to reinforcing negative perceptions of these groups as threats to public safety.
Language barriers were found to exacerbate discrimination. The police tend to prematurely end interviews with non-German speakers due to time constraints and lack of adequate translation services, leading to incomplete investigations and insufficient victim support.
Activists and some politicians have long accused the police of not doing enough to unearth potentially violent nationalists in their ranks, a sensitive issue in Germany where awareness of Nazi atrocities before and during World War II is strong.
In 2020, 29 police officers were suspended for sharing pictures of Adolf Hitler and doctored images of refugees in gas chambers in private chats. REUTERS
