Etnisten vähemmistönuorten kokemukset virallisesta kontrollista ja leimasta

Vaikka luottamus poliisiin on Suomessa korkeaa, viime aikoina keskustelua on herättänyt etninen profilointi, poliisin voimankäyttö ja Black Lives Matter -liike. Etnisten vähemmistöjen ja poliisin suhteet näyttäytyvät usein kielteisinä ja niissä on havaittu epäluottamusta, mutta aihetta ei ole tutkittu riittävästi Suomessa. Tässä artikkelissa tutkitaan, millaisia kokemuksia etnisillä vähemmistönuorilla on kohtaamisistaan poliisien ja yksityisen turvallisuusalan toimijoiden kanssa. Artikkelissa tutkitaan myös sitä, miten nuoret ovat kokeneet tulleensa leimatuiksi näissä kohtaamisissa. Artikkeli hyödyntää kolmenkymmenen nuoren yksilö- ja ryhmähaastatteluaineistoa (N = 18), jota analysoidaan teemoittelun keinoin. Tutkimuksen osallistujat ovat syntyneet tai asuneet pitkään Suomessa. Silti he kokivat tulosten mukaan olevansa kontrollin alaisena arkielämässään. Nuoret tulkitsivat, että heidän oletettu maahanmuuttajataustansa tai etninen vähemmistötaustansa näyttäytyi poliisin, järjestyksenvalvojien ja vartijoiden näkökulmasta epäilyttävänä, potentiaalisena rikollisena tai häiriön aiheuttajana. Näitä tilanteita tuli esiin a) kontrollitoimijoiden etsiessä rikolliseksi epäiltyjä henkilöitä (leimaavat tuntomerkit), b) henkilöpapereita kysyttäessä Suomen kansalaisilta (oletettu ulkomaalaisvalvonta) ja c) yleisesti järjestyksenvalvonnassa. Tulosten mukaan epäily tuotti kielteistä kuvaa puuttumistoimista, leimaa ja toiseuden kokemusta. Leimautumista tapahtui näissä vuorovaikutustilanteissa, mutta nuoret myös vastustivat leimoja, esimerkiksi vältellessään tai kyseenalaistaessaan puuttumistoimia ja sanktioita. Artikkeli laajentaa ymmärrystä kriminologisesta leimaamisteoriasta ja kontrollin valikoivuudesta etnisten vähemmistönuorten näkökulmasta. Jatkuva epäilyn alaisena oleminen ja kontrollin kautta luotu rikollisen leima haastaa yhteiskuntaan kuulumista, identiteettiä ja luottamusta. Elsa Saarikkomäki: Experiences of official control and labelling amongst ethnic minority youths. Finland is characterised by the high levels of trust in the police. Recently though, discussions have been raised about ethnic profiling, and the use of force by the police, illustrated namely by the Black Lives Matter movement. Encounters between ethnic minorities and policing agents are often perceived as negative and lacking trust. However, these questions are not yet sufficiently studied. This article studies experiences of the police and private security officers among ethnic minority youths. Particularly, the analysis focuses on whether young people perceive the contacts as labelling and stigmatizing. The article is based on thematic analysis of 18 in-depth interviews (total 30 youths participated in individual and focus group interviews). Even if the study participants were born or lived in Finland for a long time, they experienced being common targets of policing due to their ethnic minority background or (assumed) immigrant background. These perceptions were based on situations where the policing agents looked for “suspects” (labelling attributes), or where the control agents asked for the identification card (assumed foreign control), as well as in general situations of maintaining law and order. The participants perceived these situations often as negative, labelling and they felt being treated as “others”. Yet, the participants also resisted stigma in different ways. The findings expand the criminological discussions of labelling and control biases from the viewpoints of ethnic minority youths. Furthermore, being often suspected and labelled as delinquent challenge belonging to society, identity and general trust. Keywords: ethnic profiling – criminological labeling theory – youth – police – private security sector

When Citizens Are “Actually Doing Police Work”: The Blurring of Boundaries in WhatsApp Neighbourhood Crime Prevention Groups in The Netherlands

Neighbourhood watch messaging groups are part of an already pervasive phenomenon in The Netherlands, despite having only recently emerged. In many neighbourhoods, street signs have been installed to make passers-by aware of active neighbourhood surveillance. In messaging groups (using WhatsApp or similar communication apps), neighbours exchange warnings, concerns, and information about incidents, emergencies, and (allegedly) suspicious situations. These exchanges often lead to neighbours actively protecting and monitoring their streets, sending messages about suspicious activities, and using camera-phones to record events. While citizen-initiated participatory policing practices in the neighbourhood can increase (experiences of) safety and social cohesion, they often default to lateral surveillance, ethnic profiling, risky vigilantism, and distrust towards neighbours and strangers. Whereas the use of messaging apps is central, WhatsApp neighbourhood crime prevention (WNCP) groups are heterogeneous: they vary from independent self-organised policing networks to neighbours working with and alongside community police. As suggested by one of our interviewees, this can lead to citizens “actually doing police work,” which complicates relationships between police and citizens. This paper draws on interviews and focus groups in order to examine participatory policing practices and the responsibilisation of citizens for their neighbourhood safety and security. This exploration of actual practices shows that these often diverge from the intended process and that the blurring of boundaries between police and citizens complicates issues of accountability and normalises suspicion and the responsibilisation of citizens.

ETHNIC PROFILING AND COUNTERTERRORISM IN EUROPEAN HUMAN RIGHTS REGIME: A PHILOSOPHICAL LEGAL REVIEW

This essay will analyze the European Union framework of ethnic profiling in the aim of combating terrorism that will be contrasted to the principle of non-discrimination that is fundamental in the European regime of Human Rights. Research question in this essay is whether the European human rights regime consistently holds the principle of non-discriminatory in justifying the use of ethnic profiling in combating terrorism. IntisariMakalah ini akan membahas mengenai kebijakan profil etnis (ethnic profiling) dalam rangka memerangi terorisme di Uni Eropa yang akan dikontraskan dengan prinsip non-diskriminasi yang juga merupakan hal penting dan mendasar dalam perlindungan Hak Asasi Manusia di Eropa. Permasalahan mendasar yang dikaji dalam studi ini adalah apakah Uni Eropa konsisten dalam memegang prinsip non-diskriminasi ketika membenarkan penggunaan kebijakan profil etnis dalam memberantas terorisme.

Ethnic profiling as negotiating: Traffic law enforcement in the Republic of Tatarstan (Russia)

Complex and ambiguous relations between state officials and civilians in Russia in general, and in Tatarstan in particular, are best reflected by daily communications between traffic police officers and motorists and pedestrians. These short interactions bring up issues of violence and minority discrimination, bribing, and dominant political values. In this paper based on my field research, I explore the practice of ethnic profiling employed by police officers and analyze its effects. I focus on identity construction and its “quality measurement.” Unlike a standardized system of weights or “brute facts,” law enforcement involves the creation of identities, including selective and sanctioned usage of, and manipulation by, ethnic traits. I conclude that ethnic profiling exists in Tatarstan, but stems not from nationalist inspirations of the controlling agents, but rather as an effect of rational economic decision-making. I also argue that despite its haphazard nature, ethnic minorities in Tatarstan are able to interact with controlling agencies more effectively than the majority, partially due to their alleged ability to employ collective action and partially because of the specific ethnic policy of the Republic.