CYIL vol. 14 (2023)

CYIL 14 (2023) RACIAL PROFILING AND IDENTITY CHECKS … racist. Drugs were found on the man and he was later sentenced to seven years in prison. 14 The Public Defender’s Office appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the police detention in question was based solely on skin colour, and moved to have the search declared unlawful. 15 In October 2022, a Canadian court in Quebec ruled that random traffic stops violate the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms and struck down the “unfettered power” of police to conduct searches that often amount to racial profiling. 16 The judge declared that police cannot stop drivers without cause. The plaintiff, Mr. Joseph-Christopher Luamba, was stopped a total of 10 times in 18 months, always without specific suspicion. 17 In March 2023, the international conference of Behavioural Analysis 2023 was held in Prague, which was dedicated to the issue of profiling in public space and public safety. The authors of this Article have selected two current Dutch cases of racial profiling that were discussed at this conference. In the Netherlands, studies on institutionalised racism have also emerged over the years (e.g., in 2012 and 2015), confirming that police officers actively target ‘suspicious citizens’ who are identified on the basis of age, skin colour, and ethnicity. In the Netherlands, the political, social, and legal climate has also increased opportunities for the use of ethnic profiling by the police, for example through the introduction of stop-and-search policies. 18 In the Netherlands, the assumed relationship between ethnicity and social problems, especially crime and disorder, has gradually become a political issue. The development of a discourse in which minority groups are increasingly perceived and addressed as ‘dangerous others’, comparable to criminals, is part of a broader process in which migration policy and crime control are intertwined. This puts increasing pressure on law enforcement officials to profile on the basis of race or nationality. For example, in the past, the Dutch police have carried out targeted searches asking for the identity of specific groups of foreigners, such as West Africans, as well as extraordinary alcohol checks on foreign drivers, especially those from Poland. In the Netherlands, a number of policy measures have been introduced and several special funds have been set up to deal specifically with the problems of crime and disorder among young people of Antillean and Moroccan origin. Despite the increasing complexity of the relationship between crime and ethnicity and the associated pressure on law enforcement officials, little systematic research on ethnic profiling has been carried out in the Netherlands. 19 In the following part of the text a brief analysis of the 2023 February Dutch court ruling on identity checks and racial profiling will be presented and the authors will outline possible problems that arise in practice. 14 “Racism in the police force: why black people are stopped more frequently by the police”, 18. 2. 2022, avail able at: https://www.conectas.org/en/noticias/racism-in-the-police-force-why-black-people-are-stopped-more-fre quently-by-the-police/ . 15 “Organizations ask Supreme Court to invalidate arrests made based on racial profiling”, 28. 2. 2022, available at: https://www.conectas.org/en/noticias/organizations-ask-supreme-court-to-invalidate-arrests-made-based-on racial-profiling/ . 16 Cour supérieure du Québec, judgement of 26 October 2022. 17 “Canada court rules random traffic stops are racist and unconstitutional”, available at: https://www.theguardian. com/world/2022/oct/26/canada-court-police-traffic-stops-racial-profiling . 18 HAYESA, R. J., JOOSENB, K., JOHN SMILEY, C. ‘Black Petes & Black Crooks? Racial stereotyping and offending in the Netherlands’ (2018) 21 (1) Contemporary Justice Review 16. 19 VAN DER LEUN, J. P., VAN DER WOUDE, M. A. (2011) ‘Ethnic profiling in the Netherlands? A reflection on expanding preventive powers, ethnic profiling and a changing social and political context’ (2011) Policing and Society , 21(4) 444.

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