Ombudsman calls on Finnish police to tackle ethnic profiling yle.fi - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yle.fi Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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For years the department recorded movements of Roma community members in the metropolitan area, taking note of vehicles they owned and the social circles in which they moved.
The city s Deputy Chief of Police denies profiling but admits mistakes were made.
Deputy Police Chief of the Helsinki Police Department, Heikki Kopperoinen
Image: Helsingin poliisilaitos
The Helsinki Police Department has been systematically engaging in activities that suggest ethnic profiling, according to information received by Yle.
Over the course of several years, the police department kept a record of the movements of the Finnish Roma community in the Helsinki metropolitan area, taking note of vehicles owned by Roma people and the social circles in which they moved.
Log entries also included other information, such as knives or other weapons found in a person s possession.