Culture Studies

Teja Reddy Desani Macquarie University Sydney, NSW, 2109 07/06/19

Australian Human Rights Commission GPO Box 5218 Sydney, NSW, 2001

Dear Australian Human Rights Commission: I am writing in regards to the lack of legislation prohibiting the use of ethnic descriptors by police when trying to identify and locate criminals and suspects. My concern is that the racialisation of crime promotes certain racial groups to be viewed as ‘naturally’ criminal, through the use of fallacy composition. This letter will be divided into two parts to 1

demonstrate how the use of terms such as, ‘of Middle Eastern Appearance’, deploy concepts of whiteness and criminalisation to create cultural panic. The first section will focus on the problems associated with the use of ethnic descriptors and the consequences they impose on both racial groups and the general public. I will refer to the ABC news article, ‘Arncliffe Gunmen Not Trying to Kill Victim in Sydney’s South, NSW Police Say’, where police described the alleged criminals as ‘of Middle Eastern Appearance’ as evidence to my claims. In 2

the second component, I will provide a proposal as to how this cultural panic can be reduced and perhaps extinguished. I will conclude this letter by strongly advising that in order to successfully portray Australian values of harmony and multiculturalism, the use of ethnic descriptors, especially in criminal matters, needs to stop.

The use of ethnic descriptors, such as ‘Middle-Eastern’ produces various problems, one of which is geographical. The phrase ‘Middle-East’ is constructed by the European and British 3

empire as it is the ‘middle’ and ‘east’ of Europe. This descriptor displays the dominant and 4

Scott Poynting et al, Bin Laden in the Suburbs Criminalising the Arab Other (Sydney Institution of 1 Criminology, 2004) 14

Jessica Kid, ‘Arncliffe Gunmen Not Trying to Kill Victim in Sydney’s South, NSW Police Say’, ABC 2 News (online), 29 March 2016 <http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-29/arncliffe-gunman-not-trying-to- kill-victim- police-say/7281626>

Jock Collins, Greg Noble and Scott Poynting, Kebabs, Kids, Cops and Crime: Youth Ethnicity and 3 Crime (Pluto Press, 2000) 41.

Ibid 42.4

neutral notion of whiteness and how ‘Middle-Eastern’ people differ from this norm. This 5

terminology not only casts a broad geographic net, but also subjects ‘Middle-Eastern’ people to be read and judged by a simple glance of their face and bodies. Moreover, this racial 6

profiling further reinforces the depiction of ‘whiteness’ as a normalised and invisibilised standard of measure in contrast to all ‘other’ races. In the ABC article, The NSW police 7

have described, in their reports, the two gunmen who shot Mahmoud El-Zein three times as being of ‘Middle Eastern Appearance and aged in their early 20’s’. The use of this ethnic 8

descriptor as the primary portrayal of the alleged criminals has exposed the whole Middle Eastern race to racial profiling. The lack of geographical specificity implies that all people 9

from the ‘Middle-East’ share enough physical features to allow other individuals to ‘immediately identify a stranger’s ethnic background’. 10

Ethnic descriptors also produce operational problems. This can be divided into three further 11

sub-problems. First, the use of ethnic descriptors homogenises entire races. Secondly, this 12

homogenised group of diverse people is viewed as being in ‘opposition’ to the cultural norm, which in this instance is ‘whiteness’. Thirdly, these descriptors provoke fear into the minds 13

of the ‘white’ public. The NSW police implement a variety of ethnic descriptors to create an 14

‘identity-kit profile’ of their alleged criminals. In this case, the ‘Middle-Eastern’ race 15

constitutes of a variety of individuals from ‘diverse ancestries and with quite distinct histories’, however, this has been composed into a single category. In addition, the use of 16

the phrase ‘of Middle-Eastern Appearance’ in a criminal investigation has homogenised all people ‘of Middle-Eastern Appearance’ as ‘criminally predisposed’ as they are put in

Ibid.5

Ibid.6

Ibid.7

Kid, above n 2.8

Ibid, Poynting et al, above n 3, 56.9

Collins, Noble and Poynting, above n 3, 56.10

Ibid 53.11

Ibid.12

Ibid 54.13

Ibid 56; Kid, above n 2.14

Tanja Dreher, ‘Speaking up or Being Heard? Community Media Interventions and the Politics of 15 Listening’ (2010) 32(1) Media, Culture and Society 85, 89.

Collins, Noble and Poynting, above n 3, 55.16

opposition to the cultural norm of ‘whiteness’. 17

Furthermore, the use of ethnic descriptors results in the creation of a ‘folk devil’; ‘an object of hostility that could bear the brunt of social anger and be seen as the wrongdoer or cause of the social condition’. A ‘folk devil’ is created when a certain social threat, in this situation 18

people ‘of Middle-Eastern Appearance’, is recognised and exposed to continuous public dispute and media coverage. During moments of panic, the production of a ‘folk devil’ 19

allows the moral and social anxieties of the public to be targeted at an ‘object of hostility’. This 20

not only allows the public to express hatred towards the racialised group, it also displays an ‘invitation to legitimately act on that affective motion’. Moreover, the creation 21

of a folk devil promotes types of hate crime, which imposes negative consequences upon the victims of racial profiling as they are viewed as members of dangerous societies. In the 22

ABC report, the use of the descriptor ‘of Middle-Eastern Appearance’ instigates and promotes thoughts of ‘others’ and ‘different’ into the minds of the public, instilling fear for criminal safety and ‘fear of the unknown stranger from places foreign and unknown’. All 23

individuals that are ‘of Middle-Eastern Appearance’ are now the subjects of this fear and potential hatred as the police and public search for the two ‘Middle-Eastern looking’ gunmen. Racial profiling by the police and media has increased the amount of police ‘stop 24

and search’ of innocent people, merely because they are perceived as being of a different race, and has contributed immensely to the increase in racial violence and discrimination. 25

Currently, the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Agency has provided a policy which

Ibid.17

Stanley Cohen, Folk Devils and Moral Panics (Psychology Press, 118 st ed, 1973) 9.

Ibid.19

Ibid 144.20

Greg Noble, ‘The Face of Evil: Demonising the Arab Other in Contemporary Australia’ (2008) 21 14(2) Cultural Studies Review 14, 30

Ibid.22

Ibid.23

Kid, above n 2.24

Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, Parliament of New South Wales, 25 Annual Report 2004-2005, 2005, 8.

presents limitations on the use of ethnic descriptors when identifying criminals. This policy 26

has been accepted by Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, however, has not been implemented into any legislation to ensure complete conformity. In addition, other states such as NSW, continue to use a wide variety of ethnic 27

descriptors as they have no policies or legislation that prohibits them from doing so. In order to solve this issue of criminally predisposing entire ethnic groups, I recommend that a section 19 be inserted under part II of the Racial Discrimination Act. This section would read as 28

follows: S 19 Identification of Suspects and Criminals

(1) It is unlawful for a person to use the following ethnic descriptors when describing suspects and criminals: (a) Aboriginal (b) Torres Strait Islander (c) Asian (d) Middle Eastern (e) Mediterranean (f) Caucasian (g) African

(2) Section (1) is not an exhaustive list and may also apply to other descriptors.

In addition, a definition of ‘Asian’, ‘Middle Eastern’, ‘Mediterranean’, ‘Caucasian’ and ‘African’ shall be added to part I, section 3 of this Act.

The enactment of this section will bind all States and Territories of Australia to this legislation, prohibiting the use of the ethnic descriptors mentioned above, by any individuals including police officers and media reporters. This legislation will ensure absolute compliance as a violation of this section may lead to a criminal offence, as stated in section 6B of this Act. 29

After reading this, you may argue that this complaint should be directed to the Australian

Anthony DeCeglie and Nicole Cox, ‘WA Police Defend Policy on Not Naming Offenders’ Race’, 26 Perth Now (online), 29 November 2010 <https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/nsw/wa-police- defend-policy-on-not-naming-offenders-race-ng-c2d854f433d502ff87fdd6ebfd3fd8af>.

Ibid.27

Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth).28

Ibid s 6B.29

Communication Media Authority as it was the ABC who published this article. However, media reporters, especially on cases that involve criminal activity and police investigations, only broadcast or publish the information which is provided to them by the police themselves. Hence, to prevent the media from characterising suspects and criminals by their race, police must first discontinue the use of ethnic descriptors when identifying their targets. This can be achieved by implementing the recommendation I have provided above, or similar legislation with the same effect and therefore prevent racial profiling of innocent people.

Kind Regards,

Teja Reddy Desani