Lawmaker seeks action over racial profiling by cops in Australia

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan

An Australian lawmaker on Tuesday sought action against the Victoria police after a legal firm accused the state police of racial profiling.

"Allegations of racial profiling by Vic(toria) Police are deeply troubling but sadly won’t come as a surprise to First Nations people or people of color who’ve been overpoliced and targeted with impunity by a racist policing system for decades," said Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the Australian Greens and a senator for New South Wales.

"Police forces need to be held accountable," she said on Twitter.

On Tuesday, Inner Melbourne Community Legal (IMCL) in its latest study revealed that Victoria Police engaged in racial profiling when it issued infringement notices during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The report, Policing COVID-19 in Victoria: Exploring the Impact of Perceived Race in the Issuing of COVID-19 Fines During 2020, found African, Middle Eastern and First Nations people were more likely to receive a COVID-19 fine than expected for their population size," the IMCL said in a statement.

Lead researcher Tamar Hopkins said the data revealed more fines were issued to racialized groups for a public health order breach after intense questioning or a detailed investigation.

“We found strong evidence that African/Middle Eastern appearing people were more likely to be issued with a fine that required questioning than white people. This difference in treatment provides evidence of racial profiling by the police against African/Middle Eastern people,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins warned that communities will be targeted the most when police are given extra powers as the latest report proved what Black, brown and First Nations communities have known for years.