Arabic populants in Western nations are nearly 50 times more likely to encounter law enforcement as a result of racial bias, a new report suggests.
Conducted by researchers at the Queen Mary University of London, they scoured data within the United Kingdom between March 2019 and June 2020, based on Freedom of Information requests.
According to their analysis, substantial instances of racial disparities by law enforcement were uncovered by officers’ use of mobile biometrics. Arabic people, in particular, were significantly more likely to be scanned by law enforcement than White North Europeans.
The purported discriminatory practices by law enforcement may result in the creation of a hostile environment for its citizens.
“This report reveals the extent of racial profiling in English police forces and the insidious nature of the UK’s hostile environment policy,” said Rachel Humphris, a researcher at Queen Mary University London.
“The New Plan for Immigration and Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will only serve to exacerbate these issues. These changes affect us all.”
“The effects of years of hostile environment government policies and institutional racism embedded in police forces have been highlighted by the use of this technology. How can we trust the Home Office with our biometric information when they consistently fail the public by misplacing and/or deleting sensitive information which can ultimately lead to deportation as we have seen with the Windrush Generation?” said another expert on racial bias in a news release.
