Published 31 January 2024 at 11.49
Domestic. The Security and Privacy Protection Board sharply criticizes the Police Authority's use of the word “gypsies” in its intelligence operations, reports Dagens Juririk.
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The board states that the police have reproduced information from an informant who used the word gypsy. This “despite the fact that the committee has stated several times in the past that the Police Authority should choose a different word when describing a person as the word can be perceived as offensive”.
Furthermore, the Police Authority has processed “two sensitive personal data regarding ethnic origin and health respectively ” without it “being absolutely necessary” and the board “takes a serious look at the errors”.
For example, a person suspected of theft is stated in a description to be “gypsy” and a person who smuggles large batches of cigarettes is described as Assyrian. The report also states that the person is a citizen of Syria.
Finally, the board notes that the Police Authority carried out a special record-keeping effort regarding the occurrence of the word gypsy in intelligence operations. The purpose of the effort was that the word should not be used in intelligence operations.
The Security and Privacy Protection Board therefore directs “sharp criticism of the Police Authority because, despite the record-keeping effort carried out, the word still appears in several cases in the audited data collection”. The police agency is being asked to “review its procedures” and take any further steps necessary to ensure that the word no longer appears in intelligence operations. The board underlines that it intends to follow up the work of the Police Authority in this regard.