Police launch drive to recruit more gypsy officers

Gypsies and travellers are being recruited by Kent Police to ensure the force best represents the community it serves.

Officers believe that by giving jobs to people from the minority group they will be able to smooth what is often a rocky relationship between the two sides.

However, some are concerned the ‘tick-box’ targets could lower standards if vacancies are given to gypsies and travellers rather than the best candidates.

Earlier this year a report by the Association of Police Authorities (APA) suggested all forces should seek to recruit from under-represented groups.

Assistant Chief Constable Allyn Thomas said this was something Kent Police fully supported.

He said: “We seek to recruit staff from as wide a background as possible and we welcome applicants from all ethnic backgrounds.

“To support us in this we have a Gipsy and Traveller Action Group, the members of which advise us on issues and who provide support in the recruitment of new personnel and the progression of existing personnel.

“We believe recruiting officers from a variety of ethnic groups enhances the legitimacy of policing in the eyes of those minority communities.”

The initiative has been backed by campaigners for travellers’ equality, including the Canterbury Gipsy Support Group, which provides diversity training to Kent Police.

Vice-chairman Joe Jones said it was important his people were given the same career opportunities as others, but admitted he did not think there would be a mad rush to sign up.

He said: “Gypsies and travellers are far from being policed in the real sense. The only time we meet is when our camps are being raided or when we are being made to move on.

“We are the most misunderstood group of people in the British Isles and nobody really cares about us, but by the police looking to recruit us it shows that we have finally arrived in society.

“Over the years the police have acted as piggy-in-the-middle between us and various other authorities and there are a lot of issues that need to be overcome before gypsies and travellers really start to go for jobs in the force, but it’s obviously something we would like to see more of.”

The recommendation by the APA to recruit more gypsies and travellers has been ridiculed by the TaxPayers’ Alliance and the Campaign Against Political Correctness, both of whom fear standards of policing will go down if candidates are judged more on ethnic background than suitability for the job.

However, Kent Police Federation chairman Ian Pointon pointed out that all potential recruits have to pass the same entry exams to be considered for a job.

He said: “It could bring a better understanding of the ways and customs of travelling communities and help break down barriers between us.

“We’re all aware of notorious traveller sites but there are also ones many people don’t know exist that are peaceful and absolutely spotless, and where I’ve been able to sit down and have a nice cup of tea with the people who live there.

“As long as they meet the grade then I can see no reason why we shouldn’t seek to recruit more gypsies and travellers.”

Slovak police exposed over gypsy abuse

Published: April 8 2009 13:22 Last updated: April 8 2009 13:22

Wednesday may be International Roma Day, but Slovakia will not be celebrating any improvement in the status of its gypsies.

Instead, police inspectors will be poring over tapes depicting their colleagues humiliating Roma children in scenes reminiscent of Abu Ghraib.

Half a dozen videos apparently shot by police on March 21 at a local station in Kosice, eastern Slovakia show six Roma children being forced to strip naked, kiss each other on the cheek and then strike each other in the face.

In one shot, six young Roma boys standing in a tiny room begin pulling their clothes off. A voice from above shouts at them to be quick, that the last to disrobe will be punished. One thin boy hesitates to pull off his white underwear. “Take it all off!” a voice shouts. “Hands behind your heads!” The camera that is filming this humiliating scene closes in on the boys’ genitals and then pans out to capture one of them looking up at his tormentors.

In another scene, police in uniform are restraining dogs that are barking at the same six boys. One of them is hiding behind a desk. The sound of crying can be heard. “Shut up, stop crying!” shouts a voice. “Bunch of fucking gypsies.”

In still another, the boys are made to kiss each other on the cheek and then slap each other in the face. “Give him a good one! And now you, hit him back! Now kiss each other,” says the hidden cameraman. “Hit him and shut up. I’ll tell you when to stop. If he ducks, I’ll kick him.”

Uniformed police officers can be seen filming the action on their cameras and mobile phones. The police spectators laugh as the boys, uncertain, keep looking around for instructions. “What kind of a punch was that? Hit him as hard as he hit you!”

Contacted at home in Kosice, Ivan Kroscen, 13, said that he and his friends had stolen a purse at a Kosice shopping mall, and after being arrested had been taken by the police to a downtown precinct. Their parents were not called until after their interrogation, he said. They are all in their early to mid teens.

“They kept laughing at us, and told us not to be afraid of the dogs because they were young ones,” he said. “But one bit me on the leg and in the bum.”

At a press conference on April 7 after the videos surfaced, the country’s top policeman, Jan Packa, said that up to eight policemen would be fired as a result, and that they would be charged with abuse of power. “These individuals have seriously harmed the good name of the Slovak police corps,” he said.

This is not the first time the Slovak police have been accused of abusing members of the country’s second-largest ethnic minority. In 2001, a 51-year-old Roma man was beaten to death while handcuffed to a radiator at a police station in eastern Slovakia. Seven of his police attackers were found guilty of torture last year.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009