MEDIA RELEASE:

INAR Launches New New Survey On Policing Of Brazilian and African Communities

February 8, 2023

The Irish Network Against Racism today launches a new survey on policing in Ireland. This is part of a larger research study which will capture the experiences of Brazilian and African communities in Ireland.

Globally, there have been increasing concerns to ensure that policing of and for minority communities is fair and meets the appropriate standards. In Ireland, there has increased investment by An Garda Siochana in training and recruitment efforts to increase the diversity of the police service. The number of people with a migrant or ethnic minority background who apply to join the police force in Ireland is low, and not representative of the demographic make-up of the wider population.

An Garda Siochana has a positive duty under Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014 to eliminate discrimination, promote equality of opportunity and treatment, and protect the human rights of its members, staff and those persons to whom it provides services. A Policing Authority report on policing during the pandemic found that migrants’ confidence in reporting a crime, or trust in the Garda Síochána to keep them safe, was low. This pattern was also seen in INAR’s 2021 iReport data.

The Brazilian and African communities are the focus of this research because they are sizable communities in Ireland, but little is documented about their experiences.

“It is vitally important that we hear from people of African descent and from Brazilians” said Patricia Munatsi, Policy Lead at INAR “ We know from our work in the community that these groups have specific experiences of policing in Ireland, but we need more information. It is vital that people in the African and Brazilian communities take part in the survey and engage with INAR in this project, so we can paint an accurate picture of how people are experiencing policing.”

The PABI Project will use interviews, focus groups and a survey to establish a better understanding of how these communities understand and experience policing, and assess their experiences in light of legal obligations on An Garda Síochána. The research will explore experiences of reporting crime, attitudes towards police, and treatment by police, as well as areas of good practice and recommendations for change.

The results of this research will be used to form recommendations that will inform the reform of the policing system in Ireland. Members of these two communities have been involved throughout the development and oversight of this research study. This independent study is funded by the Policing Authority of Ireland.

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NOTES TO EDITOR:

More information about the PABI Project can be found here.

About INAR: The Irish Network Against Racism , who coordinate a network of over 170 civil society organisations in Ireland, have pioneered the iReport.ie racist incident reporting system since 2013, logging thousands of hate crimes and racist incidents, and producing from their data cutting edge reports and policy submissions to national and international reporting bodies, government and media. Its complete periodic reports on racism can be found here. INAR is also an active member of the European Network Against Racism (ENAR), a network of organisations from 30 European States. INAR submits data reports and other submissions to the Government, National Authorities, European Union, OSCE, Council of Europe and UN bodies on racism and discrimination in Ireland.

INAR’s Work On Policing: More information on INAR’s previous and ongoing work on Policing in Ireland can be found here.