Flanders: Turks, Flemish trust police more than Moroccans

Flanders: Turks, Flemish trust police more than Moroccans


Results from a year ago showed that Turks actually trusted the police more than the ethnic Flemish: Flanders: Study of immigrant trust in the police.  According to this article, the trust level is about the same.

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Turkish immigrants and Flemish have more trust in the police than Moroccan immigrants.  On the other hand, research also shows that police agents have a distorted image of the community they serve.  This according to the book "Meer kleur op straat. Diversiteit en veiligheid in BelgiĆ« en Nederland" (More color on the streets, diversity and security in Belgium and the Netherlands), published by Hasselt University and the Equal Opportunities Policy Center Steunpunt Gelijkekansenbeleid).

Researcher Maarten Van Craen researched the trust in the police among Moroccan and Turkish immigrants and ethnic Flemish in Antwerp, Ghent and Genk

He came to the conclusion that about 50% of Turkish immigrants and Flemish have much or very much trust in the police, compared to 43% among Moroccans.

"Demographic and social-economic factors explain the difference: the lower level of trust comes from the fact that Moroccan immigrants (on average) are young and experience more financial difficulties than ethnic Flemish.  Of the three researched ethnic-cultural groups, Moroccan immigrants hold most to the opinion that the police target people in their community by treating them more severely.  This gnaws considerably at their trust," says the researcher.

The study in multicultural neighborhoods of five Belgian police zones shows that police agents have a distorted image of the community they need to serve, because they just meet a small part of the community.  "There is talk of 'over-policing' on the one hand of certain (often troublesome) customers and on the other hand, 'under-policing' and neglecting other parts of the community," says researcher Marleen Easton.

Source: HLN (Dutch)

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