The Victorian Greens have said the Victorian Labor Government must stop ignoring the clear problems within Victoria Police’s ranks and develop a framework to monitor potential racial profiling.
Today Inner Melbourne Community Legal released a disturbing report revealing African and Middle Eastern Australians were four times more likely to have received COVID-19 fines during the pandemic, while First Nations people accounted for more than 30 per cent of all COVID-19 fines.
Victorian Greens justice spokesperson, Katherine Copsey, said Victoria Police needed to do better, and that it was imperative police be made to record their interactions to ensure transparency around any potential biases and improve the standard of policing.
Earlier this year the Greens also called for the establishment of a well-resourced police ombudsman, to help clean up Victoria Police and ensure strong, independent oversight to investigate and report on dodgy behaviour and prevent it from occurring in the first place.
As stated by Victorian Greens justice spokesperson, Katherine Copsey MLC:
“This is not the first time strong evidence of racial profiling has been levelled at Victoria Police, and rather than more blanket denials we now need genuine action to address the problem.
“It’s clear Victoria Police has a serious problem, yet for too long the Victorian Labor Government has stuck its head in the sand and refused to address it.
“Other jurisdictions regularly monitor and report on potential racial profiling by police, to track biases that exist and how it impacts on the quality of policing culturally diverse communities.”
