Melbourne: After failure to curb attacks
on Indians, the police in Melbourne are now facing charges of taunting Africans with names like "monkey", a report claimed today.
People interviewed about police treatment of young
Africans in Flemington, the City of Greater Dandenong and
Braybrook said police were becoming increasingly aggressive
towards these youths and complaints against police were
routinely ignored, 'The Age' reported today.
The project was funded by Legal Services Board in 2008
and managed by three community legal centres.
Helen Yandell, Director of Springvale Monash Legal
Service, said police were unfairly targeting young African
people, using phrases such as "monkey" and "black c---" and
overusing their new stop-and-search powers.
"Almost every single young person we spoke to reported
being asked to give police their name and address several
times in a single day. For some, this was a regular
occurrence," Yandell said.
She said young people who participated in the study
had spoken of police on horseback often taking photos of them
on the street. In one instance, officers allegedly took off
their uniforms to attack youths of African background in a
park.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, March 16, 2010, 14:48