POLICE, MINORITIES, AND THE FRENCH REPUBLICAN IDEAL

This paper examines the strained relationship between French police agencies and ethnic minorities and discusses evidence of ethnic discrimination by the police and the criminal justice system. Until recently, the idea that ethnic composition of a police force ought to reflect, to some degree, the c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Criminology (Beverly Hills) 2003-11, Vol.41 (4), p.1065-1100
Main Authors: ZAUBERMAN, RENÉE, LÉVY, RENÉ
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affirmative action
Citizenship
Ethnic minorities
Ethnic Relations
France
Ideology
Minorities
Minority & ethnic groups
Police
Police Community Relations
Policing
Political ideology
Race
Racial discrimination
Racism
Recruitment
Republicanism
Republics
Social Function
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Summary:This paper examines the strained relationship between French police agencies and ethnic minorities and discusses evidence of ethnic discrimination by the police and the criminal justice system. Until recently, the idea that ethnic composition of a police force ought to reflect, to some degree, the community it polices, seemed odd in France. We argue that there are two main reasons for this viewpoint: first, a conception of the role of the police in the State as accountable to the government rather than to the citizens; secondly, a conception of Republic and citizenship denying any political significance to the personal identities of citizens. We conclude that ethnic diversification of police forces is but one aspect of a more encompassing struggle against discrimination that requires a degree of accommodation with the present legal and statistical invisibility of racial/ethnic groups.
ISSN:0011-1384
1745-9125
DOI:10.1111/j.1745-9125.2003.tb01014.x