“The police force has lost touch with what is happening in our cities,” says the Minority Forum “Minderhedenforum”. The organisation is reacting to an article in Le Soir alleging that only 56 out of 196 police districts boast an official specifically trained to deal with discrimination issues. “The police have no real idea how widespread the problem of discrimination is,” explains Bram Sebrechts from Minderhedenforum. “Tolerance of discrimination and racism is also apparent in the way policemen deal with complaints. This attitude only makes recent immigrants feel more isolated and leads to serious doubts about the justice system.”
Minderhedenforum calls for quantified targets to introduce ethnic diversity in the police force. “We need a new culture. We need zero tolerance of racism to be part of the disciplinary rules and to be enforced,” stresses Bram Sebrechts.
Minderhedenforum represents 1,700 ethno-cultural minority associations in Flanders and in Brussels.
(Source: Belga)
