A review into cross cultural training of the Victoria Police announced this week, has been welcomed by the Ethnic Communities’ Council of Victoria (ECCV).
This came in response to a race discrimination case this week in the Federal Court of Australia, whereby six young African-Australians claimed Victoria Police targeted them because of their ethnicity.
The way in which Victoria Police reports crime statistics, and in particular, the focus there appears to be on race and ethnicity, is an issue that concerns the ECCV, chairperson Joe Caputo OAM said.
ECCV sees racial profiling and discrimination as a violation of fundamental human rights.
“The ECCV welcomes the opportunity to make a submission to Victoria Police’s review into cross cultural training and contacts in the field,” Mr Caputo said.
“While we also welcome the Victoria Police’s ongoing collaborative efforts with culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, in order to continue building a multicultural society free from discrimination, influential institutions and authority figures such as Victoria Police should adopt a role-model based practice by continuing to interact and strengthen multilateral relationships with people of CALD backgrounds,” Mr Caputo said.