Police rapped for 'lack of clarity' in Roma probe
Police in Skåne in southern Sweden have been criticized by the body investigating a registry with the names of thousands of Roma, being told the answers they've provided thus far are insufficient.
The police and the registry are currently under investigation by the Swedish Commission on Security and Integrity Protection (Säkerhets- och integritetsskyddsnämnden - SIN), which has looked into a random selection of 1,235 of the total of 3,413 people on the list who are not children and who are still alive.
Last week, Skåne County police claimed the list was assembled to "fight a criminal network" rather than to keep tabs on people of a specific ethnicity, but the response doesn't sit well with the commission, which has now requested more information.
"The Skåne County police have previously told us that the 'itinerants' (kringresande) registry only included Roma or those married to Roma. When one now reads these new answers, one doesn't get that impression and now they say that the registry wasn't based on ethnicity," SIN chair Sigurd Heuman told the TT news agency.
He now wants police in Skåne to provide clear answers on whether the first registry, which according to police was used to map a conflict among Roma in Staffanstorp, only included Roma and what criminality police hoped to fight as a result of the mapping.
"It should include what sort of crimes were to be combatted and investigated. That's not altogether clear; it's hard to understand how it all hangs together," said Heuman.
TT/The Local/dl
Comments
See Also
The police and the registry are currently under investigation by the Swedish Commission on Security and Integrity Protection (Säkerhets- och integritetsskyddsnämnden - SIN), which has looked into a random selection of 1,235 of the total of 3,413 people on the list who are not children and who are still alive.
Last week, Skåne County police claimed the list was assembled to "fight a criminal network" rather than to keep tabs on people of a specific ethnicity, but the response doesn't sit well with the commission, which has now requested more information.
"The Skåne County police have previously told us that the 'itinerants' (kringresande) registry only included Roma or those married to Roma. When one now reads these new answers, one doesn't get that impression and now they say that the registry wasn't based on ethnicity," SIN chair Sigurd Heuman told the TT news agency.
He now wants police in Skåne to provide clear answers on whether the first registry, which according to police was used to map a conflict among Roma in Staffanstorp, only included Roma and what criminality police hoped to fight as a result of the mapping.
"It should include what sort of crimes were to be combatted and investigated. That's not altogether clear; it's hard to understand how it all hangs together," said Heuman.
TT/The Local/dl
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.