Unlocking Doors: Audit of Initiatives Related to Police and Muslim Communities

• A speech by Mr Ali Roude, Chairman of the Islamic
  Council of New South Wales, in December 2003 at the Senior Executive Retreat
  about what it is to be an Australian Muslim (Published in Platypus No. 18
  March 2004).
• An information session, delivered by Ms Aziza
  Abdel-Halim, a representative of the Australian Women’s Muslim Network,
  about Muslim cultural issues held at the AFP Counter-Terrorism (CT) Workshop.
  The workshop also introduced participants to particular issues that regularly
  confront police officers in the daily execution of their
  duties.

• The AFP Melbourne Office holds
  regular meetings with Muslim community leaders and
  representatives of the Islamic Council of Victoria.    
• The AFP Sydney Office has been engaged with the Sydney
  Muslim Community on a regular basis particularly focusing on forming new
  relationships with the Islamic youth.  The frequency of this contact occurs
  weekly with formal meetings held monthly (approximately).
• The AFP Adelaide Office meets with leaders in the
  Islamic Community on a quarterly basis.  In August 2006 Adelaide Office
  initiated a cultural awareness presentation from the Muslim Women's
  Association.  This highly successful event was attended by AFP,
  Customs, Australian Crime Commission (ACC), Attorney Generals
  Department and SA Police.
• The AFP Perth Office have been engaged on a significant
  level with the Islamic Community since 1971 undertaking formal meetings every
  six months. The Manager of the Perth Office is regularly invited and attends
  various Islamic Community events and in June 2006 led an open forum
  discussion attended by a wide range of organisations including
  councils and religious centres.
• The AFP Darwin Office has reached an agreement with the
  recently elected Presidents of both the Darwin and Alice Springs Islamic
  Councils to involve them in a program of Islamic awareness seminars for AFP
  members.  In support of this, Darwin Office members have attended Friday
  Prayer Sessions at the Darwin mosque, and open days at the Darwin Islamic
  Centre.  The Darwin office maintains regular ongoing meetings with Muslim
  community leaders and the local Imam.
• The AFP Brisbane Office has increased their contact
  with the Islamic Community and the Islamic Council of Queensland.  The
  office regularly attends Muslim community events and provides advice on the role
  of the AFP and impact of relevant legislation.

• Improving AFP understanding of extremism among young
  Australian Muslims – maintaining a dialogue with Muslims and undertaking
  research to better understand Muslim community issues.
• Building leadership capacity in the Australian Muslim
  Community – measures to strengthen the leadership and communication skills
  of moderate Muslims to better represent their communities.
• Promoting mainstream Islam in Australia –
  Australia based training for religious and other community leaders and support
  for scholarship exchange programs to enhance people-to-people links between
  Australia and moderate Islamic countries.
• Encouraging tolerance and social cohesion –
  communications plans to combat negative public perceptions of Islam, multi faith
  and other events to nurture understanding, projects and partnerships to foster
  inclusiveness, particularly among young Muslims and the promotion of civics
  education and Australian values.
• Responding to Muslim Concerns – Consulting
  Australian Muslims in relation to the use of new counter-terrorism powers and
  identifying any issues which contribute to the social exclusion of Muslims from
  mainstream Australian society.

• A brief history of Islam
• Key Islamic celebrations and events
• Worship practices
• Death and related issues
• Gender
• Code of dress
• Family structure and culture
• Physical contact
• Policing and Islamic religious practices
• Police entering a
  mosque

For more information see:www.apmab.gov.au

• Enhancing communication and fostering trust between
  police and young people from culturally, linguistically and religiously diverse
  backgrounds;
• Anti-Arab or anti-Muslim prejudice;
• Building partnerships and better relationships between
  new and emerging communities and Police; and
• Arabic speaking communities and people who practice
  Islam

Former Mosaic Fund award
winners
Arabic culture and language
training: 2002

Victorian Arabic Social
Services

Commander Ashley Dickinson, Victoria
Police


Working Together in Partnership:
2003

South Australian Lebanese Women’s
Association and Senior Constable Russel Disher, South Australian
Police.

The aim of this project was to help
foster awareness of the challenges and issues facing Arabic-speaking youth and
the benefits of their positive participation in both Arabic-speaking and wider
Australian community. In developing communication, co-operation and trusting
relationships, all stakeholders were encouraged to create an environment that is
safe and seen to be fair and equally accessible.

• identify current and emerging issues of concern
  relating to policing multicultural communities;
• exchange of information and learning between police
  jurisdictions on cultural diversity matters;
• showcase best practice models of communication and
  community relations strategies operating in each State and Territory;
• provide a national public forum for dialogue and
  discourse between police and CALD communities; and
• provide Police Commissioners with recommendations to
  enhance service delivery.

The outcome
of this forum will be the development of strategies to enhance police service
delivery to its CALD customer base and information derived from the forum will
inform policing priorities for police jurisdictions. One workshop at the forum
was on violence, vilification and victimisation. In this workshop discussion
revolved around:

• The onus of the victim to prove victimisation in
  current legislation.
• Heightened security measures and terrorism were feeding
  perpetrators of hate crimes in relations to Muslim communities.
• Concern that police did not take reports of instances
  of racial crime seriously enough.

The
workshop raised an awareness of hate crime and demonstrated the police responses
to these issues. A number of key issues arose from the discussions. Other
workshops aimed to assist the police and communities influence and help improve
strategies for working together. Good and bad practice factors were indicated.
There was also recognition of the need to evaluate the success of
programs.

• exchange of information on religious diversity issues;
• a forum to showcase best practice models; and
• enhanced networking between police Chaplains and other
  faith networks.

• the need to coordinate a set of guidelines for
  strategies and training across all jurisdictions;
• promotion of PCLO’s; and
• establish a national reference group for uniformity
  project priority determination nation wide.

• Youth Liaison Officer
• How to Avoid Bag Snatchers
• Dangerous and Restricted Dogs
• What to do if your Child (under 18) is
  Arrested
• If you are stopped by Police when Driving
• How to prevent Robbery and Stealing
• Criminal Infringement Notice
• Weapons & Other Prohibited
  Items

Future IMPACT projects are expected to focus mainly on
NSW Police Force Local Area Commands to build greater police capacity to operate
in a culturally diverse society.

• A training day on working effectively with young
  people.
• A soccer game including police, young people, teachers
  and youth workers.
• A sports day.
• A survey on issues impacting police/youth
  relations.
• Crime prevention workshop.

• Knowledge, respect, education, winners (KREW) 4 weeks
  program and camp for young women from Arabic and Pacific Islander background.
  This program focused on ‘at risk’ youth, was funded by the Arabic
  Youth partnerships project and was conducted by Campsie LAC and Belmore Police,
  Community and Youth Club (PCYC).
• Campsie LAC along with Sudanese Association Australia
  has been successful in getting a meeting space for the Sudanese community on
  Thursday nights at Belmore Youth Centre.

• Burwood
• St George
• Parramatta
• Belmore
• Bankstown

• A round table discussion with service providers from
  government and non-government organisations in the Coffs Harbour area to map
  service and support issues from the perspective of working with the emerging
  Sudanese community.

• Meeting with members of the local Sudanese community to
  directly hear their issues and concerns facing the community. In preparing for
  this, the NSW Police Cultural Diversity Team (CDT) spoke with service providers
  working with African communities in the Sydney metropolitan area to compare
  issues and devise the most effective way of engaging culturally with the local
  community

• Discussing with police officers in the Coffs/Clarence
  LAC the sorts of incidents that create concern for them in working with members
  of the Sudanese community and, through their own experiences, workshopping the
  skills and supports that would assist them to effectively manage diversity. The
  consultation was followed up with a written questionnaire completed by police
  officers.

• Meeting with Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers from
  Coffs/Clarence LAC to explore issues between the local Aboriginal and Sudanese
  communities that contributed to a sense of community disharmony and police
  intervention.

• Diverting ‘at risk’ young people away from
  the criminal justice system.
• Developing mechanisms for reporting and evaluation in
  collaboration with relevant academic and industry experts.
• Capturing relevant qualitative and quantitative data
  illustrating the extent of and the reasons for the involvement of young people
  of Arabic backgrounds in crime.

• Neighbourhood visits allowing for face-to-face
  interaction in a positive environment.
• A police and community forum.
• Unplanned meetings with youth discussing police roles,
  procedures and initiatives, which gave young people an opportunity to voice
  concerns of police discrimination.
• Parents meeting with the commission to facilitate trust
  and communication.
• Informal communications with community members helped
  develop rapport in the community.

• Community consultation;
• Police and community networking;
• Translated materials;
• Media promotion and relationships;
• Joint police and community projects and
  funding;
• Community education; and
• Training for police.

• Policing domestic violence;
• Break, enter and steal offences;
• Truancy;
• ‘Move along’ directions; and
• Traffic offences.

• The Arabic speaking congregation of Auburn
  Mosque.

• Generally have a lack of knowledge about their rights,
  responsibilities and obligations under the law;
• May misinterpret police procedures and
  actions;
• Find it difficult to communicate due to language,
  cultural and social barriers;
• There is an overwhelming ‘thirst’ for
  knowledge about the legal system and law enforcement in Australia;
• Many felt a trust in the police;
• Feel that individual attitudes and behaviours of police
  and community members play a big role in ensuring positive interactions and
  intervention;
• Wish for a conciliatory approach when dealing with
  conflict;
• Highlight the importance of religious and community
  leaders;
• Disadvantage of women due to settlement challenges;
  and
• Racial violence is of
  concern.

Recommendations:

• Community policing awareness: through information and
  education programs on rights and responsibilities.
• Educational media to enhance police-community
  relationships.
• Partnership policing: establishing links between
  schools, youth centres, community organisations, and leaders, both formal and
  informal activities.
• Cross-cultural awareness training for police
  officers.
• Community harmony: breaking down stereotypes and
  misunderstanding.
• Police liaison officers.
• Recruitment from these
  communities.

• educating young people from Lebanese background in
  matters of crime, drug abuse and safe driving.
• Religion and Family Harmony; a project focused
  on domestic violence.

• Human Rights protection in Australia
• Discrimination (Age)
• Civil and political rights
• Racial and religious discrimination
• Refugees and asylum seekers
• Women’s rights

• Fact sheets to deal with bomb threats and threatening
  phone calls published in Arabic, Turkish, Indonesian and Urdu. This was
  implemented directly in conjunction with NSW Police
• Better community access to information regarding the
  Terrorist (Police Powers) Act 2002 (NSW)

• Promote the well being of young people from Arabic
  speaking backgrounds
• Increase parent support and education to help prevent
  risk taking behaviour
• Provide children and young people with better learning
  opportunities and recreational activities for long term personal development

The project primarily focuses on a
population of 110,000 people of Arabic speaking background living in 10 Local
Government Areas in Sydney's West and South-West. 17 projects, programs and
initiatives have been funded under the auspices of the Youth Partnership with
Arabic Speaking Communities project. A broad range of specific programs are
managed by six NSW government agencies and cover five key areas:

• Youth Liaison Teams who interact with young people in
  places where they gather and try to make positive connections with young people
  or situations where young people may take part in anti-social or risk-taking
  behaviour
• Education initiatives to strengthen school and
  community relations, reduce truancy and behavioural problems and assist young
  people with learning.
• Parent support to ensure resources are appropriate and
  accessible to the needs of Arabic speaking families and facilitate specific
  initiatives to raise awareness and improve services to parents and families to
  help them parent
• Aiming to engage young people in sport, recreation and
  cultural initiatives to reduce boredom and develop confidence and
  self-esteem
• Establishment of a Community Trust where
  community and corporate sponsorships can be obtained for specific projects (in
  addition to the funds allocated by the NSW Government) .

• Crime and community Safety
• Family support
• Youth support and mentoring
• Alcohol and other drugs
• School attendance and retention
• Employment
• Community harmony between diverse cultures
• Improve coordination of Government
  services

For more information
see:

www.communitybuilders.nsw.gov.au/

solutions/canterbury/can.html

• the Ramadan Community Dinner in Shepparton;
• youth programs in the Northern suburbs of Melbourne
  during Ramadan;
• a drug and substance abuse awareness project with the
  Somali Cultural Association;
• a youth camp with participants from Flemington, the
  local Police, and the Moonee Valley City Council;
• Turkish community road safety production; and
• a Ramadan Soccer Program in Carlton.

• Victoria Police would be the investigating body for
  offences and all reports of cases reported to EOCV would be forwarded to VICPOL
  via the Equity & Conflict Resolution Unit.
• Victoria Police would provide a response to EOCV on the
  result of investigations

Victoria
Police would provide trending analysis on matters that are reported against the
RRTA & provide this analysis to EOCV.

• Who Is a Victim of Crime?
• What happens if I Need to Go to Court?
• Applying for an Intervention Order
• Financial Assistance for Victims of crime
• Local Support
• Reporting Crime
• Victims of Crime Help line (Information
  Card)

• MacKillop Secondary College - 400 students
• Swan Hill College - 200 students
• Public Forum at Swan Hill - 300 people.

The National Party local member was
in attendance as were four local councillors and local indigenous elder Deb
Chaplin.

• Cultural diversity in schools, including a cultural
  diversity activity designed to challenge your thinking;
• Best practice models for working with newly arrived
  migrants in schools;
• Arabic Youth Presentation;;
• Arabic demographic profile in Australia- historically
  and presently;
• Islamic Presentation;
• Outline of VASS roles; and
• Arabic culture and language.

Sessions are a chance to destroy
myths about Arabs and for the community to gain a better understanding of the
Arabic Community and issues of particular importance to Arabic Speaking
people.

• The establishment of an Arabic community helpline;
• Special consideration be given to students of Islamic
  faith or Arabic-speaking backgrounds for exams/assessment; and
• The distribution of multicultural education information
  in schools.

In October 2001, an
Arabic community helpline was established, staffed by bilingual counsellors. The
helpline ran for three months, enabling people to report incidents, seek support
and receive referrals to appropriate agencies. Approximately 30 calls were
received, most relating to disputes between neighbours and random abuse.

• Community services, work to minimise feelings of
  inadequacy among inmates;
• There be a stronger involvement within the wider Muslim
  community to encourage Muslims to take ownership of social issues as well as
  ensure that accurate information is provided;
• Efforts be made to recruit more Muslim staff within the
  courts and police force;
• Providers of services for victims of domestic violence
  promote their services more widely to create a greater awareness within the
  community;
• Chaplain numbers be increased, in particular a Muslim
  female chaplain is required;
• Brochures for Muslims to link them to existing Muslim
  services should be made available in courts and police centres;
• A Muslim support officer be appointed at the major
  courts; and
• Prisoners to be informed of the reasons for information
  collected about them before the information is requested, as per the Privacy
  Act.

• Ensure that QLD police service policy and program
  development is responsive to the needs of the ethnic community.
• Provide appropriate education for police to increase
  their knowledge and interpersonal skills in policing a multicultural
  society.
• Provide ongoing specialist support for the provision of
  equitable service delivery to ethnic communities throughout QLD.
• Provide open, effective and visible communication with
  all ethnic communities and
  organisations.

The report also
provides key actions to support the implementation of these
strategies.

• Common misconceptions about Islam and
  Muslims;
• Barriers to communication;
• Attitudes to authority;
• Commonalities with other religions;
• The status of women in Islam;
• Dynamics within Islamic/Muslim communities;
  and
• Cultural Practices.

• Identifying potential problems and difficulties before
  they escalate.
• Co-ordinating and supporting Police Liaison Officers
  (PLOs) within their District or Region.
• Providing guidance and assurance to operational
  officers regarding multicultural issues.
• Identifying and developing special projects relevant
  to, and focusing on, local community
  needs.

A segment of the biennial
CLLO conference (Sept 2006) dealt with issues/concerns relevant to the effective
policing of Muslim communities. Imams, Islamic Society of Qld representatives,
and Muslim women and youth participated in the dialogue and forum
session.





CLLOs attending the Conference
also visited the Darra Mosque and enjoyed an evening meal hosted by the Muslim
Community.

• Making a meal of it – an anti-discrimination
  initiative.
• The Peter Morris Park Project.
• Live and Learn Multiculturalism.
• Police and Community Working together.
• The Open Doors
  Project.

Amounts of up to $3000 were
distributed to each of the above initiatives.

• improving communication between police and
  multicultural and Indigenous communities;
• providing advice to police for better service delivery
  regarding multicultural and Indigenous communities;
• assisting multicultural and Indigenous communities in
  understanding their rights and responsibilities as citizens and how to access
  police services;
• providing victim support; and
• increasing community awareness about criminal activity
  and how to access policing
  services.

The MLO and other Crime
Prevention members have been involved in several multicultural events that
include members of the Islamic Committee such as the Multicultural Festival,
Multicultural Youth Camp and the Nexus Event in which different religious groups
shared poetry and music.

• Provide advice to Government on the extent to which
  services and programs are available to and meet the needs of migrant settlers
  and multicultural community groups;
• Identify multicultural issues and provide advice
  thereon;
• Assist and promote cooperation between multicultural
  groups and organisations on matters of common interest; and
• Advise the Government on particular multicultural
  issues as referred to by the
  Council.

The Council which is made up
of elected members from various migrant communities across the State meets every
2 months. Inspector Craig Waterhouse by virtue of his appointment as the
Tasmania Police Multicultural Liaison Officer is a permanent member of the
Council.