Canteen Banter or Racism: Is There a Relationship Between Oslo Police's Use of Derogatory Terms and Their Attitudes and Conduct Towards Ethnic Minorities?

• NCJ Number: 218949
• Journal: Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: 2007 Pages: 77-96
• Author(s): Ragnhild Sollund
• Date Published: 2007
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This article explores the possibility of a relationship between the Oslo (Norway) police’s use of derogatory terms about the ethnic minority population and actual police attitudes and conduct.

Abstract

Results revealed that the relationship between the police use of derogatory language and actual discriminatory or hostile behavior towards ethnic minorities was not straightforward. While it seemed clear that the derogatory language helped reinforce negative images of ethnic minority populations, it was also the case that direct hostility was seldom observed in street encounters between police and individuals belonging to ethnic minorities. The interview data reveal that the police hold stereotypical perceptions of ethnic minorities, yet the fieldwork data did not indicate differences in the way ethnic minority members were approached by police officers. The author argues that while direct effects of derogatory language on police conduct toward ethnic minorities is lacking, the cumulative impact of this type of verbal racism may in the long term lead to unjustified stop practices and possibly even abuse. Participants were 18 individuals of ethnic minority background who were recruited in 1 of 3 ways. One sample was strategically drawn from informants who had made official complaints about police conduct. The second sample consisted of youth selected from a youth project and the third sample included key informants about police-ethnic minority relationships recruited from the Organization Against Public Discrimination. Interviews were open-ended and asked about their police experiences, opinions about police, background information, and other experiences related to discrimination. Research methods also included fieldwork with the Oslo police force and semi-structured interviews with 20 police officers of varying rank and gender. Police officer interviews focused on their experiences with ethnic minorities and their opinions of them. All interviews and fieldwork were analyzed for emerging themes. Footnotes, references