Most young ethnic minority people in Scotland see the police as racist, according to the first independent study of their attitudes to law and order. Academics from Glasgow Caledonian University said the survey found that youths from minority backgrounds felt “under siege” from staring white neighbours and unfairly targeted by police officers.
The researchers spent months cataloguing the views of people aged between 16 and 25 from a variety of ethnic minorities. The survey found that strong perceptions among most participants that some actions of the police amounted to racism and reflected cultural insensitivity. Many were said to lack confidence in the judgment of the police. Scotland’s two biggest police forces, Strathclyde and Lothian and Borders, which commissioned the study, acknowledged the need to widen their engagement with young people in order Despite the findings, many young people, especially Muslims, were said to have made it clear that they saw themselves as Scottish. They described racism as part of their everyday lives, but stressed that they did not see all Scots as racist. Ethnic minorities make up 2 per cent of Scotland’s 5 million populations.
ETHNIC MINORITY YOUTHS VIEW POLICE AS RACIST IN SCOTLAND
Most young ethnic minority people in Scotland see the police as racist, according to the first independent study of their attitudes to law and order. Academics from Glasgow Caledonian University said the survey found that youths from minority backgrounds felt “under siege” from staring white neighbours and unfairly targeted by police officers.
